Crazy Love Book Review

Bassett, Ryan
Christian Life, Kevin Greer

A. Integrity Statement

I thoroughly read every chapter, following the guidelines of the book (watching online videos
when it says to, and praying when it says to). I completed the book 1:00pm on 12/2/2010. It was my
first Francis Chan book, but I've been a long time listener and watcher of sermons of his from
Cornerstone Church online media.

Chapter 1 - Stop Praying

"How about the way plants defy gravity by drawing water upward from the ground into their stems and
veins? Or did you know that spiders produice three kinds of silk? When they build their webs, they
create sixty feet of silk in one hour, simultaneously producing special oil on their feet that prevents
 them from sticking to their own web. (Most of us hate spiders, but sixty feet an hour deserves some
respect!) Coral plants are so sensitive that they can die if the water temperature varies by even one or
two degrees."

This was an awesome paragraph for me (this page was actually awesome), because it shows
another aspect of God that is often overlooked. People don't focus about God's reation, how awesome
and amazing it is. They forget the creation and only focus on spiritual matters. People like to think
heaven is all about harps and fluffly clouds. But God is very evident on earth. He created everything
beautiful, the sunsets we see, the beautiful lines and curves on a woman, the rainforest, flowers... These
things are tangible evidence of God's creativity and awesomeness.

Chapter 2 - You Might not Finish This Chapter

"You could die before you finish reading this chapter. I could die while you'r reading it. Today."

This principle I want God to infuse into me over the coming years. I want to number my days
even when I am young, so that I do nothing to waste time or to become dissilusioned about what is
important on earth. Jonathan Edwards was 18 when he wrote his 70 resolutions about his life, and the
most common theme was the shortness of life and how he was going to respond because of that. I want
that same mindset and heartset infused into me.

"It is easy to become dissilusioned with the circumstances of our lives compared to that of others'. But
in the presence of God, he gives us a deeper peace and joy that transcends it all."

Comparing myself to others - looking at others and analyzing what they did that was different
from what I did in life, is paralyzing, and leaves bitterness in the heart. I want to be ree of that, even if
it means seeing how wretched and lost I am, I want God tot ake that by the hands and hold me up
because of my weakness. I want that peace and that joy that I cannot get by striving for more of the
world.

Chapter 3 - Crazy Love

"Through this experience (page 55, talking about his daughter and becoming a father), I came to
understand that my desire for my children is only a faint echo of God's great love for me and for every
person He made. I am just an earthly, sinful father, and I love my kids so much it hurts. How could I
not trus ta heavenly, perfect Father who loves me infinitely more than I will ever love my kids?"

It's hard to imagine that God loves us infinitely more than Francis loves his fauther. It's just not
fathomable, and the Bible agrees. It says that we cannot imagine what God has in store for us. Well,
that is amazing. It makes it easier to love him and follow him when we know that we cannot even
imagine how much hes going to love us in person after life. Why would you not give your life to a God
like that?

Chapter 4 - Profile of the Lukewarm

“Are you satisfied being "godly enough" to get yourself to heaven, or to look good in comparison to
others? Or can you say with Paul that you want to know Christ and the power of His ressurection and
 the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. (Phil 3:10).”

This is a thought provoking paragraph. I have found myself in such an irritable state that I havce cried
to God that His will be done. "Receive my spirit," I said. It was necessary because I could not do it by
myself. My anxiety took over me. And God's love showed up. He took over the irritability and anxiety
and gave me peace to hold on. I was thankful. But can I imagine living my whole life like that? Not
really. It's hard. Its tough. But I want to be open to that possibility. If God is as great as He says he is,
and all the suffering is worth Him, than I am more than happy to live a life like that, but I must admit
that I have no power at all, and that God must be there in every situation.

Chapter 5 - Serving Leftovers to a Holy God

"And so I've spent the past few days reading the Gospels. Rather than examining a verse and
dissecting it, I chose to peruse one gospel in each sitting. Furthermore, I attempted to do so from the
persepctive of a twelve-year-old who knew nothing about Jesus. I wanted to rediscover what
reasonable conclusions a person would come to while objectively reading the Gospels for the first time.
In orther words, I reade the Bible as if I'd never read it before."

There are a lot of scriptures which are in the 'gray area of understanding', not all people agree on
their meaning. Some think it's one way, others think its another. This is how it is with Song of Songs.
Some think it's a book about sex, some think its a metaphor for Christ and the Church. This
methodology from Francis Chan is pretty strong, it's a good way to understand what God was
intending. Because God wrote his words for everyone, we know that he wasn't trying to deceive anyone
when he was writing it. He wrote it for teenagers as well as adults as well as children.

Chapter 6 - When You're In Love

“As I called in the last chapter, we are called to surrender everything for Christ--a concept most
churchgoers are not particularly thrilled by. Grandma Clara used to say, "I love love." Don't we all?
Don't we crave it? And isn't that what God wants of us--to crave this relationship with Him as we crave
all genuine love relationships? Isn't that what brings Him glory--when believers desire Him and are
not merely slaves who serve Him out of obligation?”

We all crave love and relationships. Like a baby monkey craves physical intimiacy with it's
mother. We crave that from our parents. To me this was a defining argument for the existence of God
over pantheistic beliefs. If God is Love, how can he be an essence of love only, an impersonal
consciousness? If we love God like a Father, he has to be personal and like our own earthly father.
God's love for us is a personal and intimate love. That is how he sees us. We crave earthly love. Any
human can tell you that. And God wants us to crave Him like we crave that love from our parents.

Chapter 7 - Your Best Life... Later

“Or did you know that Moses was a murderer and so scared of speaking up that God had to send his
brother, Aaron, to be Moses' mouthpiece? Also in Hebrews 11 we see Rahab, who was a Gentile and a
woman (in that time, a serious disadvantage), not to mention a prostitute! Then there's Samson, who
had so many issues I don't even know where to begin. And of course, David, a "man after God's own
 heart", who was an adulterer and a murderer, whose children were evil and out of control”

This is an amazing paragraph, depicting the reality of the Old and New Testament "characters of faith".
Wee see amazing stories with hese people, but we also see regularity and humanity. We see that these
people are normal just like you or me, and have done things that are atroscious to the living God. God
loves these people and accepted them into His Kingdom. We know that we can be a person after God's
heart and have flaws in ourselves. We have our own problems and we can not escape that, God doesn't
expect that of us.

Chapter 8 - Profile of the Obsessed

“People who are obsessed with Jesus give freely and openly, without censure. Obsessed people love
those who hate them and who can never love them back.”

Jesus calls us to give--we all know this--financially, with our time, with our services. I have had
trouble jump starting giving in my own life. Financially I am not independent yet, so I have trouble
rationalizing giving money away from my father to others. I want to change this as I get a job, giving
10% of it away reguarly. I have also material possessions I would love to give, just as a test of my faith.
I want to give away some high quality headphones for my computer. I want to give away my services
for computer repair on Ozark campus, free for students and professors. I want to help others with all of
me, and I need God to deliver me opportunities for that to happen.

Loving others even though they cannot love you back. This is a great statement. Loving your
enemies is one thing God called us to do very dearly. I don't consciously have enemies, only some
people that I have 'beef' with at school, maybe an unsettled argument. I try to apply the principle of
'being the first to apologize' in those situations. I need to be proactively loving others because Jesus
commanded us to do that. Jesus' words are starting to permeate me and make a difference in my soul,
causing me to think and act in new ways.

Chapter 9 - Who Really Lives That Way?

"Rings likes to say that if Jesus saved him, then Jesus is able to save anyone and everyone. So
instead of using his monthly check to buy alcohol or a hotel room for himself, he spends all of it on
food at the local supermarket. He transfers the food he buys to coolers in the back of his truck, then he
drives to the beach and makes meals for his fellow homeless."

Rings is a great example of living like Jesus wants us ot. I want to impliment that into my life. I
want to hold weekly meals for homeless people as well, healthy, organic meals. I want to teach my kids
(who one day I hope to have) through Godly examples of service and selflessness. The next sotry about
the family who delivers pancakes on Christmas morning is a perfect example of something I'd like to
do with my family. I want to have my kids grow up in a Jesus-like environment. I want my kids to be
obsessed with Jesus.

Chapter 10 - The Crux of the Matter

The point is that there is another path, an alternative to the individualism, selfishness, and
materialism of the American Dream (even the so-called Christian version). I hope their stories
reminded you that God works in a vast number of ways, that he has more in store for you than you can
really imagine right now.

This is an eye opening paragraph. The American Dream is something that is taught to us from
television, media, our earthly parents. We might unconsciouslly be following a value system about this
kind of lifestyle without even knowing it. We need to concentrate on the Gospel, see what kind of
system it requires for us, and conform to it. That is Jesus' model--selfless sacrifice, humility, service,
giving, spreading the Gospel. This is the ideal Christian life. It looks the same on the outside sometimes
(we might hold the same Job as bfore), but inside we're completely different beings, made new in
Christ and devoted to solely Him. I hope that God uses me in ways I cannot fathom, and that I derive
great joy and pleasure from his work. I hope to find pleasure in the Word and joy in seeking His face.

The chapter that stood out to me the most was Chapter 9. There is something about personal
examples that are really amazing in developing my faith. Reading theology and books about God are
great, but real-life stories have an emotional and lasting impact on me. Especially the stories about
Rachel Saint, who went to a country that literally killed on sight any foreigners who visited them, in
order to translate the Gospel for them. And the fact that her brother had died to these foreigners, it
made her want to love on them even more. How amazing a story. Can we learn something from this? I
think so. It might be radical to think that we can live a life like this, but we can. I do not want to be a
philosopher, I want to live a life of radical service. I do not want to merely talk about God and matters
of God, I want to impact people with the love of God. Books that spark our emotions and drive us to
make personal decisions in our life about how we're going to change are important. We must find fuel
to continue on. The Word of God is for that, but these stories are like throwing lighter fluid on a
burning fire.