Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Crazy Love by Francis Chan

I've been a bit busy with random stuff - work, school, prepping for a talk at Wheaton College next week, just life in general - so I haven't had much extra energy or ideas for blogging. So here are some perceptive quotes from Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God by Francis Chan:
Should you put your house on the market today and downsize? Maybe. Should you quit your job? Maybe. Or perhaps God wants you to work harder at your job and be His witness there. Does He want you to move to another city or another country? Maybe. Perhaps He wants you to stay put and open your eyes to the needs of your neighbors.

My suggestion as you think, make decisions, and discern how God would have you live is to ask yourself, "Is this the most loving way to do life? Am I loving my neighbor and my God by living where I live, by driving what I drive, by talking how I talk?" I urge you to consider and actually live as though each person you come into contact with is Christ.

Imagine if you opened up a drawer in your kitchen and found twenty cheese graters but no other utensils. Not very helpful when you're looking for something to eat your soup with. Just as there are different utensils int he kitchen that serve diverse functions, God has created unique people to accomplish a variety of purposes throughout the world.

That is why I cannot say in this book, "Everyone is supposed to be a missionary" or "You need to sell your car and start taking public transportation." What I can say is that you must learn to listen to and obey God, especially in a society where it's easy and expected to do what is most comfortable.

3 comments:

NirwanaTransJogja said...

"Hiduplah Dalam Perdamaian Dengan Semua Orang"
Selamat menyongsong Natal 2008
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Unknown said...

Hey, I've been to his church! I like Francis Chan a lot and the book sounds quality.

I had issues with a couple things he said during his sermon that weren't historically accurate. (Ex: "The disciples weren't afraid of persecution because they said, 'I've seen Jesus raised from the dead! I know there's life after death!'" And that's just not what was revolutionary about the resurrection...)

But I have a lot of respect for him as a person based on what I've heard about his church. And I thought it was really interesting to see an Asian-American leader of a church that, at least when I went, appeared to be largely white.

Unknown said...

I was totally vague there, as far as what I like, so to clarify, I think his church seems to be simultaneously attracting people that don't necessarily all feel called (yet) to live in the inner city, etc. but is really doing a lot of sacrificial giving more than your average large evangelical church. It's sort of both typical and really unique at once, at least in my brief experience there.