Friday Final Word: Crazy Love

This next clipping from Crazy Love by Francis Chan seems to bridge a gap for us between Proximity, Prayer and the beginnings of a reckless love.  I hope that it gives you direction in your journey.   Blessings, Mike   God wants to change us; He died so that we could change.     The answer lies in letting Him change you.  Remember His counsel to the lukewarm church in Laodicea?  “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” (Rev. 3:20)  His counsel wasn’t to “try harder” but rather to let Him in.  “Come near to God and He will come near to you.” (James 4:8)   The fact is, I need God to help me love God.  And if I need His help to love Him, a perfect being, I definitely need His help to love other fault-filled humans.  Something mysterious, even supernatural must happen in order for genuine love for God to grow in our hearts.   The Holy Spirit has to move in our lives.     It is a remarkable cycle:  Our prayers for more love result in love, which naturally causes us to pray more, which results in more love…   When you are pursuing love, running toward Christ, you do not have opportunity to wonder, Am I doing this right? or Did I serve enough this week?  When you are running toward Christ, you are freed to serve, love and give thanks without guilt, worry or fear.  If we train ourselves to run toward our Refuge, toward Love, we are free.     As we begin to focus more on Christ, loving Him and others becomes more natural.  As long as we are pursuing Him, we are satisfied in Him.  We are free!   John 10:10​“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”