Thursday, September 11, 2008

Excerpts: An Ongoing Blog Series... The Danger of the Bare Minimum


I read Crazy Love (David C. Cook books, 2008) by Francis Chan about a month ago. Chan, pastor at Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, California, dares to challenge readers to consider living out a radical, over-the-top, obsessed, crazy love for God. Reading it pushed and challenged me to keep a high view of God, and to recapture that first love that I have discovered in Christ. Below is a section that resonated with much of my experiences with students, but also challenged the mentality that I find myself battling through:


Let's face it. We're willing to make changes in our life only if we think it affects our salvation. This is why I have so many people ask me questions like, Can I divorce my wife and still go to heaven? Do I have to be baptized to be saved? Am I a Christian even though I'm having sex with my girlfriend? If I commit suicide, can I still go to heaven? If I'm ashamed to talk about Christ, is He really going to deny know knowing me?

To me, these questions are tragic because they reveal much about the state of our hearts. They demonstrate that our concern is more about going to heaven than loving the King. Jesus said, "If you love me, you will obey what I command" (John 14:15). And our question becomes even more unthinkable: Can I go to heaven without truly and faithfully loving Christ.

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