Chapter 5: "Serving Leftovers to a Holy God"
>> Tuesday, April 20, 2010
In Chapter 5, Chan references many scriptures that point to the conclusion that a "lukewarm Christian" is an oxymoron. On page 85 he writes, "The thought of a person calling himself a "Christian" without being a devoted follower of Christ is absurd." Although, many of us have read Revelation 3:15-18 (...."I am about to spit you out of my mouth.....") and other verses referenced, was this chapter an eye opener for you? What has God shown you through this chapter?
What is your response to Chan's statements about the state of our hearts when we ask such things as "If I do x, y and z...will I still go to heaven?" On page 86 he writes that the question quickly becomes, "Can I got to heaven without truly and faithfully loving Jesus?" How about his reminder that His grace covers us....His "extravagant grace"?
Did anything pop out at you in his section on "offering leftovers" and how Father measures everything by the way that we love? Respond to this chapter to share what God is revealing to you with the group...whether it has been mentioned in this post or not.
4 comments:
First let say that this chapter was hard to read. Some of what Chan said really stung and made me take a closer look at my walk with God. I hate to even think about God spitting (gagging, hurling, retching) me out of his mouth. Chan challenged us to read through the Gospels like we've never read them before. I haven't done this but I'm going to. I think I need a new perspective on things and a refresher on what it means to follow Jesus.
I was so glad to read pg. 87 after that first section. "I do not want true believers to doubt their salvation as they read this book. In the midst of our failed attempts at loving Jesus, His grace covers us." Thank you Jesus! Thank you that your mercies are new every morning! Thank you that your grace is sufficient!
I think the only question we need to be asking about our entrance into heaven is like Chan said, "can I go to heaven without truly and faithfully loving Jesus?" I'm not sure some of the other questions would even be asked if we were truely and faithfully loving Jesus. If we are, then His grace is sufficient to help us with the other stuff and our hearts will be in the right place to do what He calls us to do. We won't have to wonder if we're doing something that will keep us out of heaven because we won't be doing it in the first place.
What popped out in this chapter the most was about giving my leftovers to God. He wants all or nothing. On pg. 92 Chan says "let's stop calling it a busy schedule, or bills, or forgetfullness. It's called evil" OUCH!!!! That one clearly stung when I read it. Chan also said that "God is not someone who can be tacked onto our lives." True faith means holding nothing back. Nothing on earth is as or more important than God. I'm guilty of giving my leftovers to God. I give Him whatever time I have left at the end of the day. This is evil.
God help me give you my all. Help me realize that nothing is more important than you. That all the other stuff I find to fill my time won't matter in the long run. Help me give you my firstfruits, my best, not my scraps.
So this is my first time leaving a comment on this book, but let me say I have thoroughly enjoyed Crazy Love and hopefully this will help jump start me to comment more often! I've never done a blog study, or had a blog for that matter, so it's taking a bit of getting used to. :) Thank you for all of you who have left such honest, thought-provoking comments.
Just as Julie stated, this chapter was difficult, but oh so good to hear. I appreciate Chan's honesty and his ability to pierce the heart with revealing the true heart of Christ....that we give him ALL of ourselves.
I believe God doesn't just want us to put Him first because He's commanded it and He deserves it (which is reason enough!!)But that He desires for us to fully walk in ALL that He has for us on this earth. I believe so many believers walk in so much bondage and baggage and when we clutter our lives, look to quick-fixes, and give God our left-overs at the end of the day, it saddens Him, because He has so much MORE to reveal to us, to give us, and so much more LOVE to lavish on us....if we would only give him the time, give Him our devotion, give him the affection that He so deeply yearns for and deserves.
I am going through a season where God is showing me more and more his deep, unquenchable love for me. It's something that I thought I understood, but I was so wrong. The more I grasp and understand and receive the LOVE of Christ for me, the more I know how to pour it out and the more I see who I really am in Christ, and the more I love HIM.
God, give us an unquenchable thirst and hunger for you, so that the things of the world become so meaningless in comparison to being with YOU and following YOU. You truly are all we need in this world. Allow us to truly grasp the depth of your love for us so that in turn we can love You with all we are.
This chapter was an intense read, but a great one! I'm still loving the book and all of your comments.
I'm just going to start by agreeing with Julie. If we are truly and faithfully following Jesus, then questions X, Y, & Z need not even be asked!
This chapter stirred a few things in my heart...
Pages 95-96
"How many of us would really leave our families, our jobs, our education, our friends, our connections, our families, our familiar surroundings, and our homes if Jesus asked us to go?" I want more than anything to honestly and confidently answer, "YES!" to this question. To most of it I can, but leaving my children and my husband? Wow. My honest answer is, I don't know. My prayer is that God would change that answer.
Also on page 95, Chan quotes James 2:17 "Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." The question I faced was, "In what areas do I consistently put my faith into action?" To me, action implies service and obedience. I'm happy to say that God has recently been opening some doors that will give me opportunity to put my faith into action. But honestly, this is not something that I have done consistently thus far. I cannot even express how excited I am to get started though! =)
The other thing that He really spoke to my heart while reading this is that I have got to stop comparing my walk with walks of other Christians. On page 98, Chan quotes Jesus in saying, "the road is narrow and few will actually find it..." Just a reminder that the only one we need to be concerned with following, obeying, and comparing ourselves to is Jesus. I have a feeling the body of Christ would not be recognizable if we would all start following Christ instead of following one another. Myself included.
And last, on page 87 Chan says, "In the midst of our failed attempts at loving Jesus, His grace covers us". As a sinner, it is guaranteed that I have and will have many failed attempts at loving Jesus. The fact that his grace covers me is the most comforting truth that I can hold on to.
Thank you all so much for sharing what God has been showing each of you. Your words are always inspiring, give new perspective and challenge me in my own walk, as well as countless others who may be reading. I thank Him for each of you!
Just the thought of "I am about to spit you out of my mouth..." is such a rattling thought. It can be a good kind of rattle, though. Not a pleasant one, but one that makes you want to stop and put your walk, your love, your motives under examination. I have heard those verses countless times and had been numb to the significance of it before. I think that because my love for Him has grown and matured more is what makes it so rattling. He is so central to my life that the thought of His rejection at all, and in such a vile way, is one thing that makes that verse so powerful.
Page 86 really makes me want to tell everyone that I know to read this book. There seems to be a lot of "if I do this and that, then avoid these other things I will be able to go to heaven" going around. I hear it far too often. "Can I go to heaven without truly and faithfully loving Jesus" really gets to the point of the matter. If the answer to that question is yes, then everything else falls into place. And the reminder of His "extravagant grace" is a beautiful one. Extravagant means "going beyond what is deserved or justifiable". His grace is exactly that....I certianly don't deserve it. I fail everyday, but His grace is new everyday! Thank you Father, for your grace and mercy that are so undeserved! I liked what Chan wrote on pge 88: "The distinction is perfection (which none will attain on this earth) and a posture of obedience and surrender, where a person perpetually moves toward Christ. To call someone a Christian simply because he does some Christian-y things is giving false comfort to the unsaved. But to declare anyone who sins "unsaved" is to deny the reality and truth of God's grace."
Another part that struck me quite hard was on page 92..."Leftovers are not merely inadequate; from God's point of view (and lest we forget, His is the only one who matters), they're evil. Let's stop calling it "a busy schedule" or "bills" or "forgetfulness." Let's call it evil." Whoa....it just really puts things into perspective.
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