“I get nervous when I think of how we’ve missed who we are supposed to be, and sad when I think of how we’re missing out on all that God wants for the people he loved enough to die for,” says Francis Chan in his book Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God. The problem arises because we see God as a benevolent being who is satisfied when we manage to fit him into a part of our lives, rather than being the one who deserves to be at the centre of our lives.
So, the author argues, we should stop praying at God, and start contemplating who God is. Once we get a glimpse of his greatness the content of our prayers will change, as will our priorities. God is not only great; he has absolute and infinite love for us, crazy love as the book calls it. Yet, in the face of God’s unending, outrageous love for us, most “Christians” respond in a half-hearted, lukewarm, partially committed manner. Lukewarm people do not love God with all their hearts, and they do not love other people as much as they love themselves.
There’s a big difference between how you act when you’re in love and how you act when you’re serving someone leftovers, and somehow God usually seems to get the leftovers rather than the love. Francis Chan has written a challenging book. He encourages us to become obsessed with God, loving those who hate us, living risky lives, connecting with the poor, taking joy in serving people, living generous lives, and having passionate love for God above all else.