passionate love- Crazy Love by Francis Chan

Are we really deeply in love with God anymore? In the parable of the sower, Jesus explained that the seed is the truth (the word of God). When the seed is flung onto the path, it is heard but quickly stolen away. When the seed is tossed onto the rocks, no roots take hold- there is an appearance of depth and growth because of the soil, but it is only surface level. When the seed is spread among the thorns, it is received but soon suffocated by life's worries, riches and pleasures. But when the seed is sown in good soil, it grows, takes roots and produces fruit. My caution to you is Do not assume you are good soil. Too many Christians today assume that they are good soil.You see, Thorns are anything that distracts us from God. When we want God and a bunch of other stuff, then that means we have thorns in our soil. A relationship with God simply cannot grow when money, sins, activities, favorite sport teams, addictions or commitments are piled on top of it. Has your relationship with God actually changed the way you live or has the way you live changed your walk with God?Are you satisfied with being "godly enough" to get yourself to heaven, or to look good in comparison to others? Many of us cannot accurately describe ourselves as totally in love with Jesus Christ and the words halfhearted, lukewarm and partially committed fit better.Rev 3:15-18: 15I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.Jesus' call to commitment is clear: he wants all or nothing. The thought of a person calling himself a Christian without being a devoted follower of Christ is absurd. Nothing should concern us more than our relationship with God- its about eternity and nothing compares with that. God is not someone who can be tacked on to our lives. Our commitment to Him is more important than any other thing or person in our life. Nothing we do in this life will ever matter unless it is about loving God and loving the people he has made. Some of you might be wondering what are the benefits of being passionate and consumed by God?When we pray, our prayers are heard by the same God who answered Moses' prayer for water in the desert, the God who gave Abraham and his barren wife a son, and the God who made the slave Joseph second in power only to Pharaoh. He is that same God. There is so much more to life than this. God wants to give us gifts, allow us heal the sick and perform wonders. We are missing the biggest part of our Christian lives – God wants to give us so much but he can't because of our little faith and lack of passionate love for God. We all have access to that same power, we need to stop being afraid that he will disappoint us. God didn't just give us a little for us; He gave His best. He gave Himself. It is no different for us: True love requires sacrifice. Our love is shown by how we live our lives: "let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." Everyone is too comfortable where they are in their lives. Too afraid to step out of the boundaries or walk away from the crowd. God does not call us to be comfortable, we have to break free from the status quo. 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. We are each given different gifts and talents by our Master. The thing that matters most is how we use what we have been given, not how much we make or do compared to someone else. What matters is that we spend ourselves for our Savior. There is another path, an alternative to the individualism, selfishness and materialism of the American Dream. God has called us each to live faithful and devoted lives before Him. You do not need to preach to your pastor, congratgation or go to the ends of the world, you simply need to live out in your daily life the love and obedience that God has asked of you.When you are wildly in love with someone, it changes everything.