OH WOW! I wrote between the lines and in the margins and folded pages over.....how am I going to condense it for a single blog? If you're just joining me, I'm sharing my random thoughts about Crazy Love by Francis Chan. An absolutely incredible book about worship!
God really spoke to me in this chapter about a couple things that I'll try to share with you. If you want to know what else God said, you'll have to sneak a peak in my book.
1. (p. 55) Loving God with abandon. When Abby came home from Memaw's after a week, she ran to meet me. Yelling exuberantly and reaching up her arms for me to swing her around. Just because she loves me. That's how God wants us to love him. Abandoned, shamelessly, whole-heartedly, absolutely, no holding back, - love Him. And he loves us back. I am by nature reserved and private and guarded. I have a long ways to go on abandoned love. ----- Then, I got to thinking about how much I missed Abby while she was away and how glad I was when she got home. Do you think God feels that way about us while we are on Earth and is looking forward to us coming home? I've never thought about death like that before. Much less scary and intimidating.
2. God's view of my own attempts at righteousness. (p.60) So, um....boys.....this is an incredible insight that made me understand Is. 64.6 in a whole new light.....but it is probably going to make you exceptionally uncomfortable to read...so I am apologizing in advance but am going to encourage you to read it to the end. Ladies....well, maybe this will enlighten you like it did me. Is. 64.6, "All our righteous acts are like filthy rags." You know the routine - we avoid confessing sin thinking that our good deeds will outweigh our bad deeds. But God makes it clear that our good deeds performed in our own strength for our own glory cannot buy forgiveness from our sins. He says they are "filthy rags." Chan says that a literal interpretation of this verse is, "menstrual garments." Think "used tampons". Now....how could we ever hope to purchase forgiveness with used tampons? As I contemplated this image of approaching God with my hands full of used tampons asking him to take away my sin, I actually had to fight the urge to vomit. I think that maybe for the first time ever in my life, I really understood just exactly how God views my false righteousness. Honestly, can you think of anything more disgusting, more preposterous, more insane than trying to purchase forgiveness with used tampons? So why would I ever brag about my own righteousness ever again? Totally new meaning to that verse for me. Understand filthy in a whole new light, huh?
3. God considers us his inheritance (p.61). A God of unfathomable wealth and power and prestige wanted me for his inheritance. I can't grasp that. Choosing between me and a million bucks? Not sure which one I would honestly choose. But for God, there was no question. That's Love.
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