Fair warning, if you don’t like being deeply moved or motivated to put your faith into action, then you probably won’t enjoy reading this book. Crazy Love is the debut offering from Francis Chan, the popular speaker and pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley California.
Throughout his book, Chan passionately and lovingly challenges the modern church (and the reader) to rise out of her lazy slumber and make a difference for the kingdom.
The format of Crazy Love is simple and clear-cut; first, help the reader come to grips with the reality that the Holy and Awesome God of the universe is madly in love with him/her. And second, determine an appropriate response to God’s crazy love.
One of the most powerful segments of Crazy Love was a biblical profile of the lukewarm in which Chan concludes, “a lukewarm Christian is an oxymoron; there’s no such thing. To put it plainly, churchgoers who are ‘lukewarm’ are not Christians. We will not see them in heaven.”
Immediately after this revelation Chan challenges the reader to carefully examine himself to see where he stands in relationship to God Almighty. One cannot assume that simply because he goes to church, sings worship songs, gives an occasional offering and calls himself a “Christian” that he is indeed saved. Or as Chan states using the biblical metaphor, “we cannot assume that we are the good soil.”
Once the reader has taken some serious self-inventory, he is then challenged to enter into a new and authentic way of living. Chan puts forth the idea of “living your best life later,” in which we as Christians would willingly forgo earthly pleasures or luxuries considered normal or even necessary in order to pursue treasures with eternal value.
This book is a must read for anyone who wants to discover what it truly means to be the “hands and feet” of Jesus Christ, or for anyone who is ready to be moved out of their comfort zone. As Christians, many of us are living far too safely and comfortably. Aside from the brief moments we spend at church each week, we are practically indistinguishable from the unbelievers around us. This is not the way it is meant to be. The church could use a loving exhortation and Chan definitely delivers.
If you enjoyed Crazy Love you may want to check out one of the following titles: Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper, Breaking the Discipleship Code; Becoming a Missional Follower of Jesus by David Putman.
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