Our Resources: Crazy Love
Crazy Love is a really great and encouraging book by Francis Chan. It has played a huge part in my spiritual growth and this is why I am choosing to write this review.
It focuses on many points about the nature of God, so is great for people who aren't familiar with the concept of a loving God, but also contains great advice and food for spiritual growth for those who are further ahead in their journey with God, which makes it great for new Christians and those who need refreshing, making it very versatile.
The book starts with a rather controversial statement in the title of the first chapter: 'Stop Praying'. To start with, this put me off slightly, and made me feel uncomfortable, but the chapter turned out to be a challenge for us - how do we pray? Do we pray at God or do we look at Him and all His glory first? It tells us not to rush into praying and instead take a long hard look at God and realise who He is - the creator of all things and King of Kings. This is just one of the great challenges that Francis Chan gives us, which is why it is so good in helping us grow in our relationship with God.
The next chapter was the most impactful for me. It is all about how powerful and holy God is. So holy in fact, that one look at His face would be too much for a sinful human to survive looking on. This message that the chapter carries caused me to break down, and eventually, with some discussions with my parents, led to my baptism, so this book has played a huge part in my testimony so far, showing that this book can hugely impact how you see life. Obviously the Bible can do this too, but it is always helpful to have someone break it down for you, as it is a huge book!
Crazy Love is simply packed with scripture, particularly descriptions of God and demonstrations of His power, so the points that Chan makes are strongly supported by God's word.
All this talk of God's power may seem discouraging, but the finishing point of the whole book is that despite all this power and holiness, God loves us, being sinners who turned away from Him for the things of the earth. Now that really is Crazy Love!
About the author
Adam is 14 and is a member of the City Older Youth Canterbury Small Group.
He is one of the editors of the City Youth blog. He likes reading and painting Warhammer figures. His favourite subject in school is Philosophy and is also into Art and Computer Science.
