During the days of Lent, I put this sign, which read, "Thank you Jesus" in my front yard. Many others had expressed their political and philosophical opinions with a myriad of other signs, so I wanted to express my thankfulness to the One who makes my salvation possible.
Sure, some of my neighbors probably think I'm that "Jesus freak" or I'm some sort of "Bible-beater." I'm okay with that. I'm used to being a salmon swimming upstream.
When one of my youthful neighbors got off his bike to ask me what I was thankful for...well that gave me the opportunity to share what this life is all about -- knowing and accepting the Gospel message of grace for ourselves, and then sharing it with others. This simple sign gave me the opportunity to share the Gospel message -- life everlasting. A seed was planted.
Others now are calling me "hater," "extremist," "terrorist," "what's wrong with our world," and even "downright crazy." Go ahead, call me, "Crazy."
Call me crazy because I believe the truth of Genesis 1:27: "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them, and He blessed them and named them..."
Mark 10:6: "But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female..." He goes on to detail that a man should leave his father and mother and cling to his wife -- the God-ordained formula for marriage.
Call me crazy because I believe that the unborn are children of God and that murder is a sin. You can spin it however you want, to rationalize it in order to suit your selfish desires, but the fact remains -- sin is sin.
You get the idea...
I'm not, however, called to hate those who think differently than I do. I am called to love my neighbor as I love myself (John 13:34), but it doesn't mean I need to love or condone their actions or behavior. Big difference.
I've become fond of a new song recently released by Casting Crowns called "Crazy People." I think it fits our world today so well:
Who builds a boat with no clouds in sight?
Who walks up to a giant and picks a fight?
Who turns a lion's den into a petting zoo?
Who can have a church in the fire of a furnace? I'll tell you:
(Refrain)
Crazy people trust in Jesus,
Following Him wherever He leads us.
Kingdom seekers, walk by faith -- Believers
Here's the Church, here's the steeple; here's to all God's crazy people.
Who brings a Bible into a public school?
Who shares the Gospel, even when the world calls them a fool?
And who's not afraid to go against the flow?
Will cancel me and call me, "One of those" -- cause I'm one of those...
(Refrain)
Who sees the world as a mission field?
Who talks to Jesus like He's real?
Who believes the words in red?
Who says He's coming back again?
(Refrain)
Some folks have asked me if I'm distraught over what's going on in our wacky world these days. I'm more saddened than distraught. I hurt for the lost who are buying into the worldly lies. But, everything that is happening has been precisely prophecied in the Bible.
Jesus said, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." (John 15:18-19)
The world hates Christians and what we stand for. Following Jesus means you will face persecution, but behold, there is great hope. The Bible foretold everything that is now happening so Luke 21:28 fills me with great anticipation...
"When all these things (lawlessness, perversion, disease, pestilence, hatred, famine, earthquakes, wars and rumors of wars, a falling away from faith, etc.) happen, then look up for His coming is near."
His coming is near. We don't know the day or the hour -- all the more reason for us to be sharing the hope that is within us. One day (and I believe soon) the door will close and those who have not repented and believed in Jesus as their Savior will be left to face the Tribulation.
Come on -- the world desperately needs us "Crazy People!"
What about you? Do you feel like you are going against the flow...crazy even? Do you feel a sense of urgency to share your faith, or if you aren't a believer, to trust in Jesus because this world doesn't hold the answers? What does it mean to be in the world, but not of the world? Will you share?
Be blessed...
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