Chapter Three of Francis Chan's book is entitled Crazy Love--same as the title of the book. Before I get into it, a precursory thought: with each chapter, I am liking this book more and more.
The author begins this chapter by noting that as a child he learned to sing "Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so." He then suggested that practically everyone in the church world knows that song, and would say they 'know' Jesus loves them. But then he argues that a great many of those very same people have never 'known' the love of God experientially. He asserts that if we really knew the love of God everything would be different.
Chan shares about his upbringing and the nature of his relationship with his dad--a relationship that he suggests had tainted his initial understanding of God's love. This resonates with me. Over seventeen years of pastoral ministry it has been an observation of mine that, most often, people's initial understanding of God as a Heavenly Father is greatly formed around the experience they has of their own dad. Thankfully, Chan's understanding of God's love took a turn for the better when he became a dad himself, and he felt a father's love for his children and relished in their love and devotion towards him. I have to tell you, I've spent a lot of time pondering these scenes--Chan's, my own, and those from others' experiences that have been shared with me.
He spends a pretty fair amount of time in the chapter discussing the term 'fear of the Lord' and putting that into a healthy perspective. He spends another segment of the chapter reassuring readers that God desires them in relationship with Himself. This, too, was a moving part of the chapter for me. The Lord God Almighty wants me!
He ends the chapter by sharing a discussion he had with a college student. The student asked him, "Why would a loving God force me to love Him?" Chan asked the student to elaborate. "God threatens me with hell and punishment if I don't begin a relationship with Him." Chan explains how this question hit him--he was unsure how to answer the student on the spot. He shares how he mulled over the question, and how he'd answer it if asked again today. I won't ruin it here. Suffice to say that his answer--really this whole chapter--was very thought provoking for me.
Good read thus far. Moving on to chapter four. Any thoughts?
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