Again, just the chapter title of Francis Chan’s Crazy Love hits the heart of the matter.  In chapter five, he examines whether calling yourself a Christian makes you a devoted follower and if there is such a thing as a “lukewarm Christian.”  Lots of food for thought.  Here is the next in my series of favorites quotes from one of my favorite books:

• The chapter is called “Serving Leftovers to a Holy God.”  Ouchy.
• God doesn’t just want us to have good theology; He wants us to know and love Him.  (As is often said, it’s all about the relationship, not the religion.)
• Matthew 28:18-20 [The Great Commission] ¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in^[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Some people claim that we can be Christians without necessarily becoming disciples.  I wonder, then, why the last thing Jesus told us was to go into the world, making disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey all that He commanded?  You’ll notice that He didn’t add, “But hey, if that’s too much to ask, tell them to just become Christians – you know, the people who get to go to Heaven without having to commit to anything.”
• Each of us has lukewarm elements and practices in our life; therein lies the senseless, extravagant grace of it all.
• How many of us would really leave our families, our jobs, our education, our friends, our connections, our familiar surroundings, and our homes if Jesus asked us to?  If He just showed up and said, “Follow me”?  No explanation.  No direction.  When you think about His disciples in that way, well, WOW…
• Many of us believe we have as much of God as we want right now, a reasonable portion of God among all the other things in our lives….But the fact is that nothing should concern us more than our relationship with God; it’s about eternity, and nothing compares with that.

God Stuff