One of the Best Books I’ve Ever Read

11May09

I recently finished one of the best books I’ve ever read – “Crazy Love” by Francis Chan. Francis Chan, teaching pastor in Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, CA, presents a controversial but solidly Biblically-based view on what it really means to be a devoted follower of Jesus Christ. This book is as anti-prosperity as you can get.

I won’t spoil it. But the main message is this. If you really dig deep into the crazy act of love that God performed by sending his son Jesus to die for mankind, who compared to God is so insignificant, in order to restore the broken fellowship we had with him and to cleanse us of our sins….like really reflect on it….not just think “yes, Jesus died for our sins and now we’re saved by grace”…..but really really reflect on how absolutely ridiculously crazy that is and let that sink in deep….then the only response is to love God back in a crazy way. Love God with reckless abandon. Love God not just a little bit more, but a LOT more than the person you love the most. Love God even more than yourself to the point where you would give up your own life. Then you will see that a “lukewarm Christian” is an oxymoron. The essence of being Christian is being a radical follower of Christ.

(Side note if you are an unbeliever: I can imagine how ridiculous all this sounds. Before I became a Christian not too long ago, my Christian friend started talking to me like this and I thought he was straight trippin. Also, words like “radical” and “give up your own life” probably sound scary in this day in age where we’ve been in a war with extremists who claim to do what they do in the name of God. Folks, being an extreme Christian simply means loving in an extreme way. It is not “religion” as how you might think of that word. It is having an intimate relationship with the God of the universe, who loves us in an extreme way and in turn, we are called to love him back and to love others with an extreme level of intensity.)

If you are a believer, this book is an absolute must-read. Every page of this book has a lot of substance. If you’re a non-believer, I’d also recommend this book because it will paint a picture of what it really looks like to be a Christian and it just might change some of your pre-conceived notions of Christians and the Christian faith.

Here is a video of pastor Chan talking about just how big the God of the universe is.

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