As I sit surrounded by 6" of snow, unable to leave my house, I couldnt think of any better way to spend my day of incapacity than to soak in some more Crazy Love.
Chapter 3 is entitled "Crazy Love" and it begins Mr. Chan's dig into our perception of God's love vs. the reality of God's love. I appreciated his raw and real look at this topic and his willingess to admit his own downfalls in his pursuit for understanding of God's love. At one point he admits questioning God's love and doubting His provision for him. How often do we do the same? Have you ever been in a rough season of life, where circumstances seem insurmountable, and hope seems bleak? Have you ever felt like Job? In the midst of trial we often are quick to ask "Where are you, God?! Don't you love me? If you loved me then why would you be putting me through this?" Instead of looking at the situation as an opportunity to draw nearer TO God, we use the situation as a reason to withdrawl FROM God. It's awful, but its honest.
Now think about how you act when you love someone. Not just any someone, but someone who makes your world go round and makes your heart skip a beat. Do you enjoy spending time with this person? And why do you spend time with this person? Is it out of a sense of "responsibility" or guilt, or do we spend time with this person simply out of our desire to know them better and be in their presence? Mr. Chan points out how we as Christians begrudgingly approach our time with God. He points out that, especially in the beginning of our walk, we see time with God as our Holy chore and that if we fail to do it, we will lose brownie points with God. Our approach needs to change from a guilt ridden servitude to an affection driven attitude. I'm not trying to get all "touchy-feely-new agey" on you. I actually quite despise that approach but I can't help but agree with Mr. Chan that God does not want our "dutiful reverence" but our "heart rendered reverence".
- "This is how God longs for us to respond to His extravagant, unending love: not with cursory
quiet time plagued by guilt, but with true love expressed through our lives."
How would applying this perception change affect your spiritual walk?
Have you ever considered that you are WANTED by God? You are His precious creation, and while He doesnt NEED you, He WANTS you. He wants to commune with you, to bless you, to guide you. If He didnt want you then why would He have sent His Son to die for you? He knew us before we existed and He brought us into being. "For by Him and through Him and to Him are all things." "By His hand all things were created and have their being" "For God so loved the world (YOU) that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosever (YOU) that believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." He LOVES you. Get that into your head and heart and HOLD ONTO IT.
- "The wildest part is Jesus doesnt have to love us. His being is utterly complete and perfect,
apart from humanity. He doesn't need me or you. Yet He wants us, chooses us, even
considers us His inheritance. The greatest knowledge we can ever have it knowing God
treasures us."
Take some time and let that sink into your soul.
Now, consider this shuddering fact:
-" The irony is that while God doesn't need us but still wants us, we desperately need God
but don't really want Him most of the time."
Remember how I said his approach in this chapter was fairly raw? I wasn't kidding. It's not pretty, but its honest. There are times when we have to try really hard to "want" God, but thank HIM that our salvation is not based on what we do or not do, how we feel or not feel. It hurts my heart to be able to admit that I've had these seasons but it spurs me on to love God in a great way than before. I want to love Him more today than I did yesterday but less today than I will tomorrow. I want to consistently be building my love for the ONE who loves me despite my heart's downfalls.
Finally, just when you thought you got out of chapter 3 unscathed, Mr. Chan sends a killer punch to the gut with this question: "Do you love this God who is everything , or do you just love everything He gives you?"
I have been saddened and sickened by how much our Christian culture has turned into a bunch of greedy, "What can God do for ME?", blessing hungry, shallow-end dwellers. There's no more depth to many of the churches than there is in a kiddy pool. I recently sat through the conference of a major evangelical preacher who lead thousands of people to believe that 2011 was their "year for blessing" and that if they just "believed" enough, that God was going to drop whatever their hearts yearned for on their doorsteps with no devotion required in return. He asked them to find their hope in this. WOW, that's dangerous. Since when has it been ok to put conditions on God? What happens when that woman who prays for her caner ridden family member to be healed only to be horrified when that prayer isnt answered? Meet the jaded, one time Christian who now resents God. The modern day church has exchanged the truth of scripture for the soul-searching self- help theology that has turned so many into watered down, snake oil purchasers. Harsh, I know. Sad, but true.
Not that this will ever happen, but what if God stopped blessing His children....Would you still love Him?
If He refused to pay off your mortgage, provide you with a new car, restore your broken relationship, or cure your illness, would you still devote your love and life to Him? There's nothing we have that we could ever give to God to earn His love but He pours His love on us anyway....so why is it that we think that God needs to offer US HIS best in order to prove Himself worthy of OUR love? (P.s. He already has....His SON).
I hope that you all are enjoying this journey through His Crazy Love and are becoming as renewed in your thought processes towards it as I am..
-Ash
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