"Sometimes God is Crazy"

For my personal Bible reading time, I have been reading Hosea. Hosea was a prophet during a time when God's people had lost focus of everything that mattered in life and death. They were increasingly becoming self-absorbed, treating others as objects and pushing relationship with God farther and farther to the unimportant margins of their lives. The situation was desperate and God was willing to take extreme measures. He told a preacher named Hosea to marry a well-know prostitute named Gomer.

Think about that a man of the cloth marrying a prostitute..not a used-to-be- prostitute, but a presently-is-prostitute! Do you think Hosea felt comfortable with that? Do you that he did not have some friends and family say, "Are you out of your mind?"

It was no small request, but Hosea did it. He married the prostitute and had children with her. Why? Because God had a point to make and he knew it would take something drastic to get his people's attention. So, he had Hosea the preacher marry Gomer prostitute to help his people see that they had been unfaithful. They had been acting like a whore, sleeping with false gods and marrying the culture's way of self-indulgence. Through Hosea and Gomer the people would receive a message that they could not miss.

I read that story and I thought, "What if God had asked me to do that? When we started Living Hope, I was single? Would I have been willing to marry a prostitute to help others know God's love?" That would be crazy!

You know what? Sometimes God is crazy! So crazy is he for his creation to live in a life-changing, loving, healing, freeing relationship with him now and forever that he is not above having preachers marry prostitutes and asking his own son to die for the sins of others. God is crazy in love with you and he will do what ever it takes to get you and me to recognize that.

Once I recognize and receive God's love for me, he then expects...commands me to do whatever it takes to help others I know come to know Him. He has not asked me or you to marry a prostitute, but he does ask us to do some crazy things at times. Crazy things like giving God credit even though it would be easier to say, "I was lucky." Telling a hurting co-worker that you will pray for him or her instead of just telling him or her that you are sorry for their struggle. Going out of your way to help someone in need before they even ask. God is crazy and he will ask us to be crazy too, when it comes to doing whatever it takes to help people know him.

For instance, what if God said cancel Sunday morning services and have church at the pool! That would be crazy! I know...so let's do it and see what God can do when his people are willing to try something crazy!

Pray with me for our church at the pool on Sunday, July 5, 7:30 PM at the Miamisburg pool. I have 7 people I am inviting. I do not know if they will come or not, but I will only find out if I invite them. And what if...as crazy as this seems...what if they do come and what if...as crazy as this sounds...A pool is where he or she finds just how crazy in love God is with them...then I would say, "Crazy is worth it!"