“People who are obsessed with Jesus aren’t consumed with their personal safety and comfort above all else.  Obsessed people care more about God’s kingdom coming to this earth than their own lives being shielded from pain and distress.”  So writes Pastor Chan on page 133.   

I like this book.  It was given out at the Safe Harbor banquet last night, and I came home and read through it.  (“Read through it” is not the same as “read it.”  I read parts of it and flipped every page to become familiar with the contents and approach.)

Safe Harbor itself a fresh and growing ministry in our little own, taking seriously the call of Jesus to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and house the homeless.  The ministry occupies a building with a historic Corinth connection, since it was formerly the Ada Shuford Geitner home for recovering alcoholics.  Now Debbie Haynes and a new team have transformed it into a safe place for women rebuilding their lives.  The site offers both day programs and a residential program.

What was amazing last night was the large crowd at the banquet representing a wide variety of Hickory churches and Christians.  The body of Christ coming together to do what makes sense for the body of Christ to do.  It’s high time we move beyond what divides us and get on with serving Christ in a broken world.

So it made sense for Safe Harbor to give out copies of Crazy Love.  You don’t read the book thinking, “This is good Reformed theology”…or Baptist or conservative or liberal.  It’s just the message of Jesus and taking the Bible seriously.  It’s Scripture and it’s stories – but woven together in a fresh way that challenges common assumptions.

One of those assumptions is addressed in the quote I started with.  We simply assume – based on American culture, not the Bible – that we all have the right, if not the responsibility, to look out for our safety and comfort as one of our highest priorities.  You don’t even need the Bible to combat that notion – just watch a good film about noble wars of the past or risky pioneer ventures or missionaries willing to sacrifice all for the gospel.

Then when you dig into the Bible, you realize that Jesus and his followers absolutely did not value safety and comfort above all.  What did they value?  Resisting lukewarm commitment, they responded to the “crazy love” of God with an obsession to extend that “crazy love” back to God and to the world around us, including the poor and marginalized.

What would that look like for you and me?  I’m thinking….