What people are saying about

Crazy Love
“In Francis Chan’s unique style, and with an urgency that seeks to awaken a sleeping
church mired in the comfort of middle ground, Crazy Love quickly gets to the he
art of the matter and leaves you wanting more … more of the matchless Jesus who of
fers radical life for all right now.” —Louie Giglio, visionary architect, director o
f Passion Conferences, and author of I Am Not, but I Know I AM
“Francis’s life reflects authentic leadership tempered by a deep compassion for the
lost, the last, the littlest, and the least. It’s all because this man, my friend,
is an ardent and devoted disciple of his Savior. In his fresh new book, Crazy L
ove, Francis peels back what we think the Christian life is, and guides us down
the path toward an uncommon intimacy with Jesus—an intimacy which can’t help but cha
nge the world around us!” —Joni Eareckson Tada, best-selling author and speaker
“In an age of religious phonies, spiritual apathy, and disheartening books suggest
ing that God is a delusion, Crazy Love shines like a glorious beacon of hope and
light. If you’re stuck in a religious rut, read this refreshing book. I found it
eye-opening and soul-thrilling. Whether in the pulpit or on the page, Francis Ch
an effuses love for Jesus Christ and demonstrates practical ways to throw off lu
kewarm Christianity and embrace full-on, passionate love for God.” —Kirk Cameron, ac
tor and author of Still Growing
OVERWHELMED
BY A RELENTLESS
GOD
FRANCIS CHAN
with danae yankoski
CRAZY LOVE Published by David C. Cook 4050 Lee Vance View Colorado Springs, CO 8
0918 U.S.A. David C. Cook Distribution Canada 55 Woodslee Avenue, Paris, Ontario
, Canada N3L 3E5 David C. Cook U.K., Kingsway Communications Eastbourne, East Su
ssex BN23 6NT, England David C. Cook and the graphic circle C logo are registere
d trademarks of Cook Communications Ministries. All rights reserved. Except for
brief excerpts for review purposes, no part of this book may be reproduced or us
ed in any form without written permission from the publisher. The Web site addre
sses recommended throughout this book are offered as a resource to you. These We
b sites are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement on the part of
David C. Cook, nor do we vouch for their content. All Scripture quotations, unl
ess otherwise noted, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NI
V®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission
of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Italics in Scripture quotations have been add
ed by the author for emphasis. Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from t
he New American Standard Bible, © Copyright 1960, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.
Used by permission; marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard V
ersion. Copyright © 2000; 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publish
ers. Used by permission. All rights reserved; and RSV are taken from the Revised
Standard Version Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971], Division of Christi
an Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United Sta
tes of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. LCCN 2008922793 ISBN 97
8-1-4347-6851-3 © 2008 Francis Chan Published in association with the literary age
ncy of D. C. Jacobson & Associates LLC, an Author Management Company [Link]
[Link] The Team: John Blase, Jack Campbell, and Amy Kiechlin Cover Design: Jim
Elliston Author Photo: Kevin Von Qualen, 2007 Printed in the United States of Am
erica First Edition 2008 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
021908
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your grace. Your forgiveness is SO good that I st
ruggle with believing it at times. Thank You for rescuing me from myself and giv
ing me Your Holy Spirit. Your love is better than life.
To my best friend, Lisa, for being a godly, gorgeous, excellent wife and mother
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks to Danae Yankoski for all of the effort and heart you put into this book.
Don and Jenni at DC Jacobson and Associates for your encouragement and help. To
dd and Joshua for serving the church and college God has given us to lead. My as
sistant, Sandy, for being a great helper and a cool old lady. The members of Cor
nerstone Church for passionately pursuing God with me.
CONT E NTS
Foreword by Chris Tomlin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . .17 Chapter 1: Stop Praying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Cha
pter 2: You Might Not Finish This Chapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 Chapter 3: Crazy Love . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.51 Chapter 4: Profile of the Lukewarm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63 Chapter 5: Serving Leftovers to a
Holy God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. .81 Chapter 6: When You’re in Love . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97 Chapter 7: Your Best Life … Later
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . .111 Chapter 8: Profile of the Obsessed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127 Chapter 9: Who Really Live
s That Way? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . .147 Chapter 10: The Crux of the Matter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163 Notes . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .175 A Conversation with Francis Chan . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .179
F ORE WORD
It is with great excitement and honor that I get the opportunity to introduce yo
u to my friend Francis Chan. Francis is one of those rare people you come across
in life who leaves you wanting to be better. You know, a better friend, a bette
r neighbor, a better athlete (well maybe not athlete … I can take Francis in most
things involving competition). But most important, Francis leaves you wanting mo
re of Jesus. If you are around Francis for more than thirty minutes, you soon re
alize that he is a man with great vision and resolve for the mission of Jesus. S
ome might say that Francis is a bit of an idealist in thinking that one life can
really make a dent in the world. But I would say that Francis is the ultimate r
ealist. Meaning, someone who believes that God is really who He says He is and t
hat the true reality of this life is to follow Him wholeheartedly. The book you
have in your hand, Crazy Love, may just be the most challenging book outside of
God’s Word you will read this year. (And for a few years to come for that matter.)
The status quo and norms of
15
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CRAZY LOVE
the so-called “Christian” life that so many of us are used to experiencing are in fo
r a shock! Isn’t it interesting that in Acts 11, at the end of verse 26, it says, “T
he disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.” What I find interesting is
the simple thought that the Christians didn’t name themselves. But rather, they we
re called (or named) “Christians” by those watching their lives. I wonder if it woul
d be the same today. Could someone look at your life or look at my life and name
me a Christian? A humbling question for sure. Crazy Love is the perfect title f
or this book. When Jesus was asked, “What is the greatest commandment?” he responded
with “Love.” “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and w
ith all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is
like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matt. 22:37–40) As Francis so brilliantly
illustrates, the life that Jesus calls us to is absolute craziness to the world.
Sure, it’s fine and politically correct to
believe in God, but to really love Him is a whole different story. Yeah,
it’s nice and generous to give to the needy at Christmas or after some disaster, b
ut to sacrifice your own comfort and welfare for another may look like madness t
o a safe and undisturbed world. I am challenged to the core by the pages you’re ab
out to read. I am excited that you are diving into this much-needed book. I enco
urage you to face up to the convictions of Crazy Love. I know your heart and spi
rit will be stirred again for your First Love. —Chris Tomlin, songwriter and worsh
ip leader of Passion Conferences
PRE FACE
To just read the Bible, attend church, and avoid “big” sins— is this passionate, whole
hearted love for God? —François Fénelon, The Seeking Heart
We all know something’s wrong. At first I thought it was just me. Then I stood bef
ore twenty thousand Christian college students and asked, “How many of you have re
ad the New Testament and wondered if we in the church are missing it?” When almost
every hand went up, I felt comforted. At least I’m not crazy. In this book I am g
oing to ask some hard questions. They will resonate with what a lot of us feel b
ut are generally afraid to articulate and explore. Don’t worry—this isn’t another book
written to bash churches. I think it’s far too easy to blame the American church
without acknowledging that we are each part of the church and therefore
17
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CRAZY LOVE
responsible. But I think we all feel deeply, even if we haven’t voiced it, that th
e church in many ways is not doing well. I get nervous when I think of how we’ve m
issed who we are supposed to be, and sad when I think about how we’re missing out
on all that God wants for the people He loved enough to die for. I haven’t always
felt this way. I grew up believing in God without having a clue what He is like.
I called myself a Christian, was pretty involved in church, and tried to stay a
way from all of the things that “good Christians” avoid—drinking, drugs, sex, swearing
. Christianity was simple: fight your desires in order to please God. Whenever I
failed (which was often), I’d walk around feeling guilty and distant from God. In
hindsight, I don’t think my church’s teachings were incorrect, just incomplete. My
view of God was narrow and small. Now I am a husband, a father of four, and the
pastor of a church in Southern California. Until just a few years ago I was quit
e happy with how God was working in me and in the church. Then God began changin
g my heart. This took place largely during the times I spent reading His Word. T
he conviction I felt through the teachings of Scripture, coupled with several ex
periences in third-world countries, changed everything. Some serious paradigm sh
attering happened in my life, and consequently in our church. The result is that
I’ve never felt more alive, and neither has Cornerstone Church. It’s exhilarating t
o be part of a group of believers who are willing to think biblically rather tha
n conventionally, to be part of a body where radical living is becoming the norm
.
PREFACE
19
This book is written for those who want more Jesus. It is for those who are bore
d with what American Christianity offers. It is for those who don’t want to platea
u, those who would rather die before their convictions do. I hope reading this b
ook will convince you of something: that by surrendering yourself totally to God’s
purposes, He will bring you the most pleasure in this life and the next. I hope
it affirms your desire for “more God”—even if you are surrounded by people who feel t
hey have “enough God.” I hope it inspires confidence if you have questioned and doub
ted the commitment of the American church. I want to affirm your questioning, ev
en while assuring you there is hope. God put me in Simi Valley, California, to l
ead a church of comfortable people into lives of risk and adventure. I believe H
e wants us to love others so much that we go to extremes to help them. I believe
He wants us to be known for giving—of our time, our money, and our abilities—and to
start a movement of “giving” churches. In so doing, we can alleviate the suffering
in the world and change the reputation of His bride in America. Some people, eve
n some at my church, have told me flat-out, “You’re crazy.” But I can’t imagine devoting
my life to a greater vision. We need to stop giving people excuses not to belie
ve in God. You’ve probably heard the expression “I believe in God, just not organize
d
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CRAZY LOVE
religion.” I don’t think people would say that if the church truly lived like we are
called to live. The expression would change to “I can’t deny what the church does,
but I don’t believe in their God.” At least then they’d address their rejection of God
rather than use the church as a scapegoat. We are going to look at how the Bibl
e calls us to live our lives. It is important that we not measure our spiritual
health by the people around us, who are pretty much like us. To begin this journ
ey, we’ll first address our inaccurate view of God and, consequently, of ourselves
. But before we look at what is wrong and address it, we need to understand some
thing. The core problem isn’t the fact that we’re lukewarm, halfhearted, or stagnant
Christians. The crux of it all is why we are this way, and it is because we hav
e an inaccurate view of God. We see Him as a benevolent Being who is satisfied w
hen people manage to fit Him into their lives in some small way. We forget that
God never had an identity crisis. He knows that He’s great and deserves to be the
center of our lives. Jesus came humbly as a servant, but He never begs us to giv
e Him some small part of ourselves. He commands everything from His followers. T
he first three chapters are absolutely foundational to this book. Though parts o
f it may not be “new” material to you, allow these sacred truths to move you to wors
hip. I pray that your reading of the next few pages will be interrupted by spont
aneous and meaningful praise to God. Allow these words to communicate old truths
to your heart in a fresh way. After the foundation has been laid in the first t
hree chapters, the last seven chapters call us to examine ourselves. We will add
ress life in light of the crux of who God is. We’ll discover what is wrong in our
churches and, ultimately, in ourselves.
PREFACE
21
Come with me on this journey. I don’t promise it will be painless. Change, as we a
ll know, is uncomfortable. It’s up to you to respond to what you read. But you wil
l have a choice: to adjust how you live daily or to stay the same.
CHAPTER ONE
What if I said, “Stop praying”? What if I told you to stop talking at God for a whil
e, but instead to take a long, hard look at Him before you speak another word? S
olomon warned us not to rush into God’s presence with words. That’s what fools do. A
nd often, that’s what we do. We are a culture that relies on technology over commu
nity, a society in which spoken and written words are cheap, easy to come by, an
d excessive. Our culture says anything goes; fear of God is almost unheard of. W
e are slow to listen, quick to speak, and quick to become angry. The wise man co
mes to God without saying a word and stands in awe of Him. It may seem a hopeles
s endeavor, to gaze at the invisible God. But Romans 1:20 tells us that through
creation, we see His “invisible qualities” and “divine nature.”
23
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CRAZY LOVE
Let’s begin this book by gazing at God in silence. What I want you to do right now
is to go online and look at the “Awe Factor” video at [Link] to get
a taste of the awe factor of our God. Seriously—go do it. Speechless? Amazed? Humb
led? When I first saw those images, I had to worship. I didn’t want to speak to or
share it with anyone. I just wanted to sit quietly and admire the Creator. It’s w
ild to think that most of these galaxies have been discovered only in the past f
ew years, thanks to the Hubble telescope. They’ve been in the universe for thousan
ds of years without humans even knowing about them. Why would God create more th
an 350,000,000,000 galaxies (and this is a conservative estimate) that generatio
ns of people never saw or even knew existed? Do you think maybe it was to make u
s say, “Wow, God is unfathomably big”? Or perhaps God wanted us to see these picture
s so that our response would be, “Who do I think I am?” R. C. Sproul writes, “Men are
never duly touched and impressed with a conviction of their insignificance, unti
l they have contrasted themselves with the majesty of God.”1
STOP PRAYING
25
Switch gears with me for a minute and think about the detailed intricacy of the
other side of creation. Did you know that a caterpillar has 228 separate and dis
tinct muscles in its head? That’s quite a few, for a bug. The average elm tree has
approximately 6 million leaves on it. And your own heart generates enough press
ure as it pumps blood throughout your body that it could squirt blood up to 30 f
eet. (I’ve never tried this, and I don’t recommend it.) Have you ever thought about
how diverse and creative God is? He didn’t have to make hundreds of different kind
s of bananas, but He did. He didn’t have to put 3,000 different species of trees w
ithin one square mile in the Amazon jungle, but He did. God didn’t have to create
so many kinds of laughter. Think about the different sounds of your friends’ laugh
s—wheezes, snorts, silent, loud, obnoxious. How about the way plants defy gravity
by drawing water upward from the ground into their stems and veins? Or did you k
now that spiders produce three kinds of silk? When they build their webs, they c
reate sixty feet of silk in one hour, simultaneously producing special oil on th
eir feet that prevents them from sticking to their own web. (Most of us hate spi
ders, but sixty feet an hour deserves some respect!) Coral plants are so sensiti
ve that they can die if the water temperature varies by even one or two degrees.
Did you know that when you get goose bumps, the hair in your follicles is actua
lly helping you stay warmer by trapping body heat? Or what about the simple fact
that plants take in carbon dioxide (which is harmful to us) and produce oxygen
(which we need to survive)? I’m sure you knew that, but have you ever marveled at
it? And these same poison-swallowing, life-giving plants came from tiny seeds th
at were
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CRAZY LOVE
placed in the dirt. Some were watered, some weren’t; but after a few days they pok
ed through the soil and out into the warm sunlight. Whatever God’s reasons for suc
h diversity, creativity, and sophistication in the universe, on earth, and in ou
r own bodies, the point of it all is His glory. God’s art speaks of Himself, refle
cting who He is and what He is like.
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.
There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes
out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. —Psalm 19:1–4
This is why we are called to worship Him. His art, His handiwork, and His creati
on all echo the truth that He is glorious. There is no other like Him. He is the
King of Kings, the Beginning and the End, the One who was and is and is to come
. I know you’ve heard this before, but I don’t want you to miss it. I sometimes stru
ggle with how to properly respond to God’s magnitude in a world bent on ignoring o
r merely tolerating Him. But know this: God will not be tolerated. He instructs
us to worship and fear Him. Go back and reread the last two paragraphs. Go to th
e Web site [Link] and watch the “Just Stop and Think” fifteenminute v
ideo. Close this book if you need to, and meditate on the almighty One who dwell
s in unapproachable light, the glorious One.
STOP PRAYING
27
There is an epidemic of spiritual amnesia going around, and none of us is immune
. No matter how many fascinating details we learn about God’s creation, no matter
how many pictures we see of His galaxies, and no matter how many sunsets we watc
h, we still forget. Most of us know that we are supposed to love and fear God; t
hat we are supposed to read our Bibles and pray so that we can get to know Him b
etter; that we are supposed to worship Him with our lives. But actually living i
t out is challenging. It confuses us when loving God is hard. Shouldn’t it be easy
to love a God so wonderful? When we love God because we feel we should love Him
, instead of genuinely loving out of our true selves, we have forgotten who God
really is. Our amnesia is flaring up again. It may sound “un-Christian” to say that
on some mornings I don’t feel like loving God, or I just forget to. But I do. In o
ur world, where hundreds of things distract us from God, we have to intentionall
y and consistently remind ourselves of Him. I recently attended my high school r
eunion. People kept coming up to me and saying, “She’s your wife?” They were amazed, I
guess, that a woman so beautiful would marry someone like me. It happened enoug
h times that I took a good look at a photograph of the two of us. I, too, was ta
ken aback. It is astonishing that my wife chooses to be with me— and not just beca
use she is beautiful. I was reminded of the fullness of what I have been given i
n my wife.
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CRAZY LOVE
We need the same sort of reminders about God’s goodness. We are programmed to focu
s on what we don’t have, bombarded multiple times throughout the day with what we
need to buy that will make us feel happier or sexier or more at peace. This diss
atisfaction transfers over to our thinking about God. We forget that we already
have everything we need in Him. Because we don’t often think about the reality of
who God is, we quickly forget that He is worthy to be worshipped and loved. We a
re to fear Him. A. W. Tozer writes,
What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing ab
out us.… Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts
of God. For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Him
self, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time
may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like.2
If the “gravest question” before us really is what God Himself is like, how do we le
arn to know Him? We have seen how He is the Creator of both the magnitude of the
galaxies and the complexity of caterpillars. But what is He like? What are His
characteristics? What are His defining attributes? How are we to fear Him? To sp
eak to Him? Don’t check out here. We need to be reminded of this stuff. It is both
basic and crucial. God is holy. A lot of people say that whatever you believe a
bout
STOP PRAYING
29
God is fine, so long as you are sincere. But that is comparable to describing yo
ur friend in one instance as a three-hundred-pound sumo wrestler and in another
as a five-foot-two, ninety-pound gymnast. No matter how sincere you are in your
explanations, both descriptions of your friend simply cannot be true. The prepos
terous part about our doing this to God is that He already has a name, an identi
ty. We don’t get to decide who God is. “God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am” (Ex. 3:14). W
e don’t change that. To say that God is holy is to say that He is set apart, disti
nct from us. And because of His set apart–ness, there is no way we can ever fathom
all of who He is. To the Jews, saying something three times demonstrated its pe
rfection, so to call God “Holy, Holy, Holy” is to say that He is perfectly set apart
, with nothing and no one to compare Him to. That is what it means to be “holy.” Man
y Spirit-filled authors have exhausted the thesaurus in order to describe God wi
th the glory He deserves. His perfect holiness, by definition, assures us that o
ur words can’t contain Him. Isn’t it a comfort to worship a God we cannot exaggerate
? God is eternal. Most of us would probably agree with that statement. But have
you ever seriously meditated on what it means? Each of us had a beginning; every
thing in existence began on a particular day, at a specific time. Everything, th
at is, but God. He always has been, since before there was an earth, a universe,
or even angels. God exists outside of time, and since we are within time, there
is no way we will ever totally grasp that concept. Not being able to fully unde
rstand God is frustrating, but it is ridiculous for us to think we have the righ
t to limit God to something we are
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CRAZY LOVE
capable of comprehending. What a stunted, insignificant god that would be! If my
mind is the size of a soda can and God is the size of all the oceans, it would
be stupid for me to say He is only the small amount of water I can scoop into my
little can. God is so much bigger, so far beyond our time-encased, air/food/sle
ep–dependent lives. Please stop here, even if just for a moment, and glorify the e
ternal God: “But you, O LORD, sit enthroned forever; your renown endures through a
ll generations.… But you remain the same, and your years will never end” (Ps. 102:12
, 27). God is all-knowing. Isn’t this an intimidating thought? Each of us, to some
degree, fools our friends and family about who we really are. But it’s impossible
to do that with God. He knows each of us, deeply and specifically. He knows our
thoughts before we think them, our actions before we commit them, whether we ar
e lying down or sitting or walking around. He knows who we are and what we are a
bout. We cannot escape Him, not even if we want to. When I grow weary of trying
to be faithful to Him and want a break, it doesn’t come as a surprise to God. For
David, God’s knowledge led him to worship. He viewed it as wonderful and meaningfu
l. He wrote in Psalm 139 that even in the darkness he couldn’t hide from God; that
while he was in his mother’s womb, God was there. Hebrews 4:13 says, “Nothing in al
l creation is hidden from God s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare bef
ore the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” It is sobering to realize that
this is the same God who is holy and eternal, the Maker of the billions of galax
ies and thousands of tree species in the rainforest. This is the God who takes t
he time to know all the little details about each of us. He does not have to kno
w us so well, but He chooses to.
STOP PRAYING
31
God is all-powerful. Colossians 1:16 tells us that everything was created for Go
d: “For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were
created by him and for him.” Don’t we live instead as though God is created for us,
to do our bidding, to bless us, and to take care of our loved ones? Psalm 115:3
reveals, “Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.” Yet we keep on questi
oning Him: “Why did You make me with this body, instead of that one?” “Why are so many
people dying of starvation?” “Why are there so many planets with nothing living on
them?” “Why is my family so messed up?” “Why don’t You make Yourself more obvious to the p
eople who need You?” The answer to each of these questions is simply this: because
He’s God. He has more of a right to ask us why so many people are starving. As mu
ch as we want God to explain himself to us, His creation, we are in no place to
demand that He give an account to us.
All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with
the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his han
d or say to him: “What have you done?” —Daniel 4:35
Can you worship a God who isn’t obligated to explain His actions to you? Could it
be your arrogance that makes you think God owes you an explanation?
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CRAZY LOVE
Do you really believe that compared to God, “all the peoples of the earth are rega
rded as nothing,” including you? God is fair and just. One definition of justice i
s “reward and/or penalty as deserved.” If what we truly deserved were up to us, we w
ould end up with as many different answers as people who responded. But it isn’t u
p to us, mostly because none of us are good. God is the only Being who is good,
and the standards are set by Him. Because God hates sin, He has to punish those
guilty of sin. Maybe that’s not an appealing standard. But to put it bluntly, when
you get your own universe, you can make your own standards. When we disagree, l
et’s not assume it’s His reasoning that needs correction. It takes a lot for us to c
omprehend God’s total hatred for sin. We make excuses like, “Yes, I am prideful at t
imes, but everyone struggles with pride.” However, God says in Proverbs 8:13, “I hat
e pride and arrogance.” You and I are not allowed to tell Him how much He can hate
it. He can hate and punish it as severely as His justice demands. God never exc
uses sin. And He is always consistent with that ethic. Whenever we start to ques
tion whether God really hates sin, we have only to think of the cross, where His
Son was tortured, mocked, and beaten because of sin. Our sin. No question about
it: God hates and must punish sin. And He is totally just and fair in doing so.
Before the Throne
So far we have talked about things we can see with our own eyes, things we know
about creation, and some of the attributes of God as revealed
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in the Bible. But many facets of God expand beyond our comprehension. He cannot
be contained in this world, explained by our vocabulary, or grasped by our under
standing. Yet in Revelation 4 and Isaiah 6 we get two distinct glimpses of the h
eavenly throne room. Let me paint a bit of a word picture for you. In Revelation
, when John recounts his experience of seeing God, it’s as though he’s scrambling fo
r earthly words to describe the vision he was privileged to see. He describes th
e One seated on the throne with two gems, “jasper and carnelian,” and the area aroun
d the throne as a rainbow that looked like an emerald. God, the One on the thron
e, resembles radiant jewels more than flesh and blood. This sort of poetic, arti
stic imagery can be difficult for those of us who don’t think that way. So imagine
the most stunning sunset you’ve ever seen. Remember the radiant colors splashed a
cross the sky? The way you stopped to gaze at it in awe? And how the words wow a
nd beautiful seemed so lacking? That’s a small bit of what John is talking about i
n Revelation 4 as he attempts to articulate his vision of heaven’s throne room. Jo
hn describes “flashes of lightning” and “rumblings and peals of thunder” coming from God’s
throne, a throne that must be unlike any other. He writes that before the thron
e are seven blazing torches and something like a sea of glass that looks like cr
ystal. Using ordinary words, he does his best to describe a heavenly place and a
holy God. Most intriguing to me is how John describes those who surround the th
rone. First, there are the twenty-four elders dressed in white and wearing golde
n crowns. Next, John describes four six-winged beings with eyes all over their b
odies and wings. One has the face of a lion, one of an ox, one of a man, and one
of an eagle.
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CRAZY LOVE
I try to imagine what it would be like if I actually saw one of these creatures
out in the woods or down at the beach. I would probably pass out! It would be te
rrifying to see a being with the face of a lion and eyes “all around and within.” As
if John’s description isn’t wild and strange enough, he then tells us what the bein
gs are saying. The twenty-four elders cast their gold crowns before the One on t
he throne, fall on their faces before Him, and say, “You are worthy, our Lord and
God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by yo
ur will they were created and have their being.” At the same time, the four creatu
res never stop (day or night) saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,
who was, and is, and is to come!” Just imagine being in that room, surrounded by t
he elders chanting God’s worth, and the creatures declaring God’s holiness. The prop
het Isaiah also had a vision of God in His throne room, but this time it is a mo
re direct picture: “I saw the Lord seated on a throne.” Wow. Isaiah saw that and liv
ed? The Israelites hid themselves whenever God passed by their camp because they
were too afraid to look at Him, even the back of Him as He moved away. They wer
e scared they would die if they saw God. But Isaiah looked and saw God. He write
s that the bottom of God’s robe filled the whole temple, and that the seraphim app
eared above Him. The seraphim each had six wings, similar to the creatures John
describes in Revelation. Isaiah says they called out to one another, saying, “Holy
, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory!” Then the
foundations shook and smoke filled the house, which is similar to John’s descript
ion of flashes of lightning and peals of thunder.
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Isaiah’s description is less detailed than John’s, but Isaiah shares more of his res
ponse to being in the throne room of God. His words reverberate in the wake of t
he smoky room and shaky foundation: “Woe is me.… I am ruined! For I am a man of uncl
ean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.” And then one of the
seraphim brings Isaiah a piece of burning coal that had been smoldering on the a
ltar. The creature touches Isaiah’s mouth with the hot coal and tells him that his
guilt is taken away. Both of these descriptions serve a purpose. John’s helps us
imagine what the throne room of God looks like, while Isaiah’s reminds us what our
only response to such a God should be. May Isaiah’s cry become our own. Woe is me
… we are a people of unclean lips!
Perhaps you need to take a deep breath after thinking about the God who made gal
axies and caterpillars, the One who sits enthroned and eternally praised by bein
gs so fascinating that were they photographed, it would make primetime news for
weeks. If you are not staggered, go to Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4 and read the ac
counts aloud and slowly, doing your best to imagine what the authors describe.
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CRAZY LOVE
The appropriate way to end this chapter is the same way we began it—by standing in
awed silence before a mighty, fearsome God, whose tremendous worth becomes even
more apparent as we see our own puny selves in comparison.