Crazy Love is both encouraging and very challenging! I was tremendously encouraged reading Chan’s book because he urges us to be authentic, real, New Testament believers! His message is simply that we must take the Bible’s message to heart, and that’s not so simple. We tend to live in a state of comfortable denying affirmation! By that I mean, as evangelicals we affirm the Bible’s teaching but our lifestyles tend to deny it! Being a disciple of Jesus, truly following Him, living for the next life usually results in less comfort, less safety, and more risk! We are conditioned to move in the opposite direction of taking up crosses and denying self! Chan’s work is a gentle, yet stirring reminder to get our priorities off of self and back on Christ!

It is also extremely challenging because while I resonate deeply with living out our faith in honest, radical ways, I have so very far to go. I was personally challenged when Chan gave testimony of moving into a home dramatically reduced in size so that he could spend more for the kingdom of God than for his comfort! I was also thoroughly challenged when he utilized Jesus’ teaching on the Final Judgment in Matt 25 to call us to treat other people as if they were Christ! Christ Himself will say to the sheep and to the goats that the way they treated others, He took personally! It really stung when Chan then used traffic scenarios and family relationships to illustrate the point!

Chan doesn’t just jump straight into pulling us back in line with true Christian living. He begins by drawing our eyes upward to focus on our God. He begins with God’s great attributes, the brevity of this life, and God’s undeserved, relentless love toward us in Christ. In this way, his application that follows is not manipulative or guilt-laden but rather an outflow of reflection on our heavenly Father. We love Him because He loves us!

Other strengths I would mention are Chan’s tone and his emphasis on missions. This book does not come across as beating you up with truth. It is truly speaking the truth in love. No doubt, it punches in the gut at times, but not in order to condemn but rather to correct our affections and purposes. It is also thoroughly missional. Living simple in order to give more for Gospel causes; storing up treasure in heaven instead of collecting junk on earth; having a thirst for dying people rather than glutting on self, I loved it. I hope and pray to grow more in it!

I also applaud Chan’s careful guard against legalism. He doesn’t prescribe specific behavior that we must all follow. For example, not everyone is called to downsize their home. Maybe. But maybe not. However, we are all called to spend this life for God’s glory, and that will take on many forms and various applications.

Crazy Love would be an excellent group study or just as suitable for personal devotion. It’s easy to read in terms of readability, not so easy in terms of repenting from coasting through life and investing this life in the Kingdom of God! It’s worth it though! It’s worth everything to be constantly reminded that the one thing that truly matters in this life (that ends soon!) is that we will stand before our Lord in the next (that is never-ending)!