At the beginning of the summer I read the book “Crazy love.” I was greatly challenged at the time and I saw ways that I needed to improve in my Christian walk. Over Thanksgiving break I reread the book, and I was able to see how I have grown since I first read it, and how far I still have to go. One part of the book is called “Profile of the Lukewarm.” Francis Chan in that chapter describes behaviors of lukewarm Christians. These people are just trying to doing the bare minimum. If we really love God why aren’t we giving Him our all? Later on in the book there is a section called “Profile of the Obsessed.” As Christians we should be Christ obsessed in everything that we do. Not just on Sunday mornings or at a Bible study during the week, in EVERYTHING that we do. What I want to do for my next set of blogs is post one of the “Profiles of the Lukewarm” and one of the “Profiles of the Obsessed.” I pray that this will challenge you and me to shape our lives around God and give Him everything. Let us hold nothing back.
“Lukewarm people give money to charity and to the church… as long as it doesn’t impinge on their standard of living. If they have a little extra and it is easy and safe to give, they do so. After all, God loves a cheerful giver, right?”
We all know that we should give. Many Christians give their 10 percent, and leave it at that. That is easy to do. Would you be willing, like the widow in Luke 21, to give your only remaining money to the Lord? Do you have enough faith to trust God completely in the area of finances?
“People who are obsessed with Jesus give freely and openly, without censure.”
If we are obsessed then we will always look for ways to give. Everything we have is a gift from God and we are to use it for His glory. Francis Chan writes later in the book “God doesn’t call us to be comfortable. He calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn’t come through.” Stop worrying about having enough money to live on. God will always provide enough for us. It might not look like the comfy American dream, but it will be sufficient. A friend of mine recently said, “Give until it hurts.” Let that be our attitude every day, and especially as we approach the Christmas season. I want to challenge everyone to look for a way this month to give in a way that you normally don’t. Don’t let it be easy for you to do. Give until you have to give up something else. It may be hard to do, but I believe that it will draw us closer to God as we put our trust in Him.
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