If your spouse asked you for money, how hard would you work to give him/her what was asked? Would it be part of your focus? Would you truly sacrifice? The same could be asked about a child, parent, sibling.
How far then will you go for God, the Creator of the universe? In Mark 12:29-30 Jesus declares the greatest commandment to be “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” How much further should we go for the Lord our God than we would for family?
Jesus follows this (in Mark 12:31) by saying the second greatest commandment is to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” The truth is, we consistently give plenty to the one who is easiest to love, ourselves. We also are willing to do so much for the ones we love, see, feel, touch everyday in our household.
In Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God, Francis Chan helps to teach us anew what the bible says about love. He encourages us to not just have a love but a crazy obsessed love for God. With respect to giving, he says the following:
People who are obsessed with God are known as givers, not takers. Obsessed people genuinely think that others matter as much as they do, and they are particularly aware of those who are poor around the world (James 2:14-26).
Why a relentless focus on the poor? Because Jesus calls us directly to it in Matthew 25 stating those will be blessed who feed.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:34-40 (NIV)
Furthermore, Jesus goes on to state that those who don’t take care of the poor, the sick, or in prison will be cursed and cast away from him.
A giver would have a heart for the poor because whatever you do for the “least of these” you do for Jesus and if you truly love Jesus with all your heart, soul, mind and strength then you will do lots for the least of these.
For me, Francis Chan’s book helped to open my eyes to what it means to love God. It was a well written easy read with so many great bible references – I would recommend it to anyone. I hope you have an opportunity to read it.
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Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God By Francis Chan with Danae Yankoski / David C. Cook The God of the universe is crazy about you! His love is the most powerful thing in the world and He wants to give it to you, so you can live for Him. If you have made a commitment to follow Christ, then read Crazy Love to be reminded and challenged in your walk. Sharing from his own life struggles and sacrifices, author Francis Chan issues a call for selfless, Christ-like living. Let the love you have received from God impact your life like never before. |
Filed under: Giving Tagged: | James 2, Mark 12, Matthew 25
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