Snapshot #1 from "Crazy Love"

Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting brief snippets from Francis Chan's book "Crazy Love." These will be brief thoughts from the book that I found particularly challenging and thought-provoking.

"The core problem isn’t the fact that we’re lukewarm, halfhearted, or stagnant Christians. The crux of it all is why we are this way, and it is because we have an inaccurate view of God." (20)

"When I am consumed by my problems – stressed out about my life, my family, and my job – I actually convey the belief that I think the circumstances are more important that God’s command to always rejoice. In other words, that I have a “right” to disobey God because of the magnitude of my responsibilities." (39)

"Worry implies that we don’t quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what’s happening in our lives.

Stress says that the things we are involved in are important enough to merit our impatience, our lack of grace toward others, or our tight grip on control.

Basically, these two behaviors communicate that it’s okay to sin and not trust God because the stuff in my life is somehow exceptional.

Both worry and stress reek of arrogance. They declare our tendency to forget that we’ve been forgiven, that our lives here are brief, that we are headed to a place where we won’t be lonely, afraid, or hurt ever again, and that in the context of God’s strength, our problems are small, indeed." (40)