I was reading Crazy Love out loud with my mom on our way to and from Grand Forks, ND today; which brought up some good conversation. In one of the last chapters Chan talks about how after hearing a sermon about giving more than the norm, one of the men in his church donated his house to the church and moved in with his parents saying that in Heaven he would have a better home, and that it doesn't matter where he lives now when by his gift others were able to be taken care of. Chan also shared about how his church decided to give 50% of their budget to others because they decided to take seriously the words of Christ when He said to love others as you love yourself. They decided then to spend the same amount on others that they would on themselves. I'm sure that many people looked at that and thought they were crazy.
I continued to talk with my mom about this asking where common sense fits in and if we can have common sense and live radically at the same time. When Jesus was sending out His disciples, He told them to take nothing with them, not even extra clothes or money. If this was happening today and those were my friends who Christ was calling, I'm sure the parent's on the block would have an issue with it. People would think they're weird and strange. I mean, who leaves their house without anything except the clothes on their back? Obviously today is a different time than it was then, but I wonder if the times were the same then as now, would Christ change what He asked them to do? I don't think so.
I think that often we don't take seriously the words of Christ when He says love others as ourselves. We hear and read these words, but do we stop and think what they mean and what it would look like if we truly would follow what Christ said? I have failed miserably at this. What does living and giving in a way that forces me to trust God look like? To be honest, I'm afraid to find out. I pray that I gain the guts and the trust to live like I trust that God knows what He's doing.
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