Crazy Love

Crazy Love
by Francis Chan
paperback, 187 pages
2008

I have heard about this book for a while, in fact, a house church, different from ours, chose to study it together when we lived in Thailand during our 2009-2011 time.  One of our kiddos left it in the closet when they went back to college so I decided to give it a read.

The good of the book: it is so practically familiar.  The bad of the book: is is so practically familiar.  Francis Chan is a public speaker as a pastor, a conference guest, and although I have only heard him once (on the video he recommends his readers to watch in the opening chapters of his book), I feel that he does a great job in verbally holding the attention of his audience and effectively communicating his views.

The book is broken down into 10 readable chapters and is devotional as well as seeks to inspire Christians to put to action their faith due to God's great love through Jesus.  Filled with Biblical quotes, quotes from heroes of the faith, and glimpses of lives lived well, Francis Chan combines these with his own personal convictions to convey what really following Jesus could lead to.  I like a quote he shares at the end of the book by Annie Dillard, "How we live our days... is how we live our lives" (pg 165).

This book is a wake-up call.  And when we wake up to the goodness of Jesus we can not help but want more of Him and be more like Him and this will change our thinking and our actions for good.  Crazy Love is about both individual revival as well as the renewal needed within the church universal.  We do not need to remain lukewarm.  Abundant life is available, just like Jesus says, to all who trust in Him.  Here is a somewhat radical idea to ponder tucked away on in a paragraph on page 166: "I urge you to consider and actually live as though each person you come into contact with is Christ."

In the last pages there is a brief interview that gives further insight into Francis Chan concerning the book, the church and life. Even if you do not read the book, (which I would recommend for not yet Christians, for new believers and for those mature in their faith, and I think it would be beneficial to read with a friend or in a group), then take a few minutes to read the interview.  It was worth my time to consider what seem to be well thought through replies to good questions.