2.15.2011

Crazy Love - preface

I vividly remember the first time I heard this preface. Yes, "heard"! I had downloaded the audio version and decided to take a listen while waiting for a transfer at the Hong Kong airport...

The first sentence of the preface had me hooked.

I recall an odd kind of giddiness that arose as I listened on, realizing that I am not alone in perceiving a large gap between the character of the early church as described in the New Testament, and character of today's churches in the West. I was also excited to learn that this book was not out to "bash the church" as many others have done ... Jesus calls the church His bride and very own body. How can we bash that?

Similar to Francis Chan, I grew up "believing in God without having a clue what He is like."

Thankfully, also similar to Chan, God has been opening my eyes these last few years to see just HOW BIG and HOW AWESOME He truly is.

A quotation I came across the other day really sums up a truth I've been discovering -

Deep theology is the best fuel of devotion; it readily catches fire, and once kindled it burns long. - Will Metzger

Love is always accompanied by, or you could say expressed by, a singular devotion to the object of your love. Are you devoted to God? Is your life devoted to loving Him?

For a long time, that answer for me was NO. And I didn't know how to get out of that rut ... but God heard, and He graciously pulled me out. As my understanding of Him grew deeper, my devotion got hotter!

I am really praying that God will do the same for each of you (and me, still) especially in these coming weeks as we meditate collectively on the craziness of His love for us.

Here are some questions for discussion in the comments...pick one (or more!) and run with it. Or add some of your own. :)

  • Who are you? We have about 24 people doing this together right now ... introduce yourself (I guess mainly for Jenny's sake, since she has never met any of you other wonderful people!) and let us know where you are coming from - maybe a bit about your background, your previous experience(s) with God, what made you decide to join in the reading...?
  • What do you expect and/or hope to learn in the coming 10 chapters?

9 comments:

  1. I have been so blessed in the last few years to truly discover (and continue discovering) who He is. It is a continual journey and I love how He continues to stretch and grow me in ways that I cannot but give praise back to Him for the all-knowing and omniscient Father that He is. That He already knows my needs and my hopes and dreams even before I do. I struggle to have Him continually at the centre of my life, to give Him the best of each day.

    I have already read on and been very encouraged by what Chan says, and more importantly, what the Word days about God's love and God's desire for us.

    It is being impressed upon my heart what it really means when we pray and we say "He is the same, yesterday, today, and tomorrow" - to really KNOW that and to trust that, and to step forward with faith.

    I hope that this book allows myself and all of us to realign ourselves with God's love, to see how abundantly immersed we are in it, and to respond to it.

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  2. Hello Everyone!
    As a little background info on me, I grew up going to church as a little kid, and similar to what Chan said in the preface, for much of my life I have "believed in God without having a clue what He is like". This has led me to a "going through the motions" kind of faith in different seasons of my life and lukewarm feelings towards God. My experience with a college ministry called Korean Campus Crusade for Christ in undergrad helped a lot with this by teaching me how awesome and real God is. I recently started medical school here in Philadelphia however, and this has been challenged my faith, as my life has gotten more filled with stress and studies. I am looking forward to reading this book with everyone and getting a better perspective of God and His love for me.

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  3. Hi Jenny! :) Welcome, we're glad you can join us! I'm Grace Na and I teach 2nd graders at a local private school. My dad's a pastor and so religion, God, living a "good" life has been in my face constantly. I think the idea of having a small, narrow view of God really resonated with me and I'm excited to see an accurate picture of who God really is. There's always been a nagging tug in the back of my mind and heart that said, "There's gotta be more, there HAS to be..." I'm looking forward to bringing that thought up front and camping out with it.

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  4. Hello :)
    I'm Nayoung, and I am a graduate student studying chemical engineering in Delaware. I grew up in the church, both in Korea and here in America, and always believed in God. But, I didn't have a good understanding of the Gospel until college, when I joined KCCC (Korea Campus Crusade for Christ). I feel that while I know that God is big, all-knowing, all-powerful, merciful, and love, I still struggle to truly know that in my life and to live like I know it. I hope that as we read through this book, I will begin to understand just how BIG our God is and live that understanding out in my life.

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  5. Michelle Kim2/23/2011 1:56 AM

    Hi!!
    I'm Michelle and I'm a 2nd year med student. I grew up in the church since I was a baby, but I was a church-goer. I played the part of a "Christian," but I didn't accept Jesus as my personal savior until in college. My spiritual life has been pretty stagnant for a while, but by God's mercy, I've been learning much more about Him and been filled with His love lately. I wish to learn more about God through the reading.

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  6. Hey I'm Tim, and I'm really awesome.

    I know Will Metzger! He's a IV staffer at UD! =)

    I'll post more later!

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  7. seriously, tim?!?
    OK -- NOW maybe i'll go visit UD.

    ahahah~ ;)

    that's wild. tell him how inspiring that line is!

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  8. Jonathan Kang2/24/2011 8:00 PM

    Hello!
    I'm Jon and I'm a graduate student. Like everyone else, I also grew up in church. But I began truly falling in love with God in college. In the past couple years, I have experienced God in so many ways, each time completely humbled by His grace.
    I actually started reading Crazy Love twice in the past 2 years, but have only gotten up to chapter 3 each time. This makes me realize how little I actually prioritize God when I'm busy, no matter how much I say God is the center of my life. sigh.
    So, hopefully, I can finally invest time into the book and through this blog, be educated on what a "crazy love" looks like and how to not forget that God is first in my life.

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  9. Hello friends :)

    Angela Kim reporting (finally) to join this blog conversation hehe I'm so excited to dive into this book again with y'all! The first time I read this, God really spoke to me... convicting me of sins and things of this world that I was clutching onto ("He wants us to love others so much that we go to EXTREMES to help them")

    I grew up in a Christian family, going to church every Sunday, being the model daughter/oldest sister/youth group member/praise team member, etc etc. I know I had accepted Jesus at a young age, but I was eating baby food for YEARS. It wasn't until this past summer when I went on medical missions with SMI (GOOOOO ALL YOU HEALTHCARE PPL!!! Find me if you want to hear about my experience... although I warn you... it is long haha) that I finally matured in my faith. God seriously blew my mind and my heart away by revealing Himself to me in this way. I haven't been the same since!! I can't wait to share my thoughts and to hear yours through this blog...

    In Him, akim

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