Crazy Love: Chapter 7

Oh wow.

This book has been good all the way through, but tonight's chapter? Whoa. Very challenging. It's about giving. Not just your usual 10% tithe, but truly giving. Mr. Chan, and the Scripture throughout the chapter, was very convicting.

Right off the bat, the author asks this question: "Do you want to see God more than you desire security?" I think most Christians will answer yes to this, because we want to sound really holy. But really think about it. Security. That is one of those words that includes so many things. Safety, being taken care of, being guarded. Financial security, emotional security, mental security, spiritual security....the list goes on. Do we really stop & think about whether we want to see God more than we want a roof over our heads? Do we want to see Him more than we want our children to be kept safe? I know. That's a tough one.

Mr. Chan points to the story of Noah building the ark. He says that having faith often means doing something that others see as crazy.

A little story, first. I have to giggle about this statement because several years ago, Larry felt called to go to New York City to go to one of the Tuesday night prayer meetings at the Brooklyn Tabernacle. It made no sense to him, but when he came into the kitchen to ask me about whether he should go or not, his words were "Does God ever talk to you?" (yes). "Has he ever asked you to do something that sounds crazy?" My response was "Like build an ark?" ha ha! More about that trip by email if you'd like to hear about it.

Seriously, though, Mr. Chan pins the tail on the donkey when he points out that "something is wrong when our lives make sense to unbelievers". Ouch. Do you fit in at work? Do you stand around & talk about the same things with your friends at the water cooler? Do you fit right into the conversations in the bleachers at the Friday night football game?

I loved this next statement. "We have to do things that cost us on earth but will be more than worth it in eternity." Beautiful. Are you doing anything like that today?

Mr. Chan suggests that "true love requires sacrifice". I can think of no greater example of this than Christ's death on the Cross. If His depiction of LOVE for us is an example of how we should live, then I have to agree with Mr. Chan's statement. He goes on to discuss giving. Not just of money, but of our time & resources. He talks about how silly it would've been for the disciples to take the giant meal Jesus created from the 5 loaves & 2 fishes and keep it for themselves when there were so many hungry people around them. If they had sat down to eat & continually said thank you to Jesus for THEIR meal, it would be ludicrous. It's the same way with the excess & abundance in our lives today. Most of us have farrrrrr more than we could ever need, but rather than giving away our excess, we sit on a mountain of luxury & raise our hands to God to thank Him. Sure, saying THANK YOU is nice & I'm sure He appreciates our gratefulness, but really....isn't there a better way to show love to all of those around us who are in need?

In Luke 9, Jesus sent out His disciples with nothing. He told them not to take a staff, a meal, an extra tunic....nothing. Why is that? He wanted them to reach a point where they could ONLY rely on Him and allow Him to supply everything they needed. Do any of us live that way these days? Do we EVER leave home without packing the kids' diaper bag or our purse and our gas-guzzling SUV with every possible item we might need while we're out? Think bigger....how many of us sell our houses & move to the mission field to live on whatever God supplies from month to month? Would you even be willing if He asked you to do that? Is God calling all of us to do that? No. But He does want us to live, day to day, in a way that shows we trust in Him to supply all we need. I loved this quote.... "God wants us to trust Him with abandon. He wants to show us how He works & cares for us. He wants to be our refuge." Are you letting Him show you how He cares for you? Are you taking refuge in Him?

"Life is comfortable when you separate yourself from people who are different from you." Ouchy-wa-wa. To be honest, I don't know too many people who are vastly different from me. Living in northeast Texas, I live in a bit of a racial, ethnic, cultural, religious bubble. There aren't too many non-white, non-Christian people around me. Yes, there are SOME, but the vast majority of people here are very much like me. It takes reaching my hands out, getting my shoes dirty, getting to know people, seeking out people who are different to feel a sense of discomfort. I've been on the mission field in various places over the years and those places were very hard emotionally, but so very powerful. The impact that those people & places had on my soul were completely life-changing. But when I'm at home in my cozy 3BR/2BA, looking out the windows at my suburban neighborhood full of mostly white Christians, it's easy to forget that I need to be a little uncomfortable from time to time.

"God doesn't call us to be comfortable, He calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn't come through." SO very true. Been there, done that....over & over. It's HARD. But the intimacy (with God) & beauty in the end are so worth the struggles & pain & heartache.

Isaiah 58 says: "....If you do away with the pointing finger & malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always, He will satisfy your needs." We're all given different gifts. Maybe you can 'spend yourself' with money but it doesn't have to be money. Use your gifts to give yourself to meet the needs of others.

Like Matthew 25 says "...whatever you do for the least of these, you've done for me." What is it that you've given or done for the least of these lately?

While Larry & I give our tithe regularly and we gladly prepare & give meals to anyone who needs it (friends, family, church members after a birth/death/surgery/etc) & we serve at our church.....the truth is, we don't suit up & go to work on a regular basis for "the least of these". We need to be doing it, though. I'm praying tonight for God to show us a place where we can reach out & serve the 'least of these' soon.

I have so many thoughts churning in my head right now, but I'm going to close & give you time to absorb it all yourself.

And on a totally ironic sidenote:
I have no idea if Mr. Chan actually meant to have this particular play on words or not. Maybe he did. If you know anything about the prosperity gospel, it claims that you can be wealthy & rich & blessed RIGHT NOW by giving to God. The whole "Jesus is a slot machine" sort of theology that claims you can give "seed faith" money & God will dump a load of cash in your bank account by the end of the week. The kind of thing you'd see in a televangelist sort of show. Now, don't get me wrong. I absolutely DO believe that God blesses us (sometimes financially) for trusting in Him...and that is spoken to in this chapter... but the whole idea of talking people into coming to the altar & writing a $20,000 check in expectation of God's cash-filled miracle is BOLOGNA! Anyway, all that to say there is a particular TV preacher who teaches some of this sort of thing & he's got a book out called Your Best Life Now. I have to wonder if Mr. Chan meant the chapter title a bit tongue in cheek or if it even crossed his mind. The chapter is titled "Your Best Life...Later".