If you talk to me for more than 30 minutes, you will most likely hear me reference a short, shiny-headed Chinese man named Francis. God has used Francis to awaken me from a comfortable slumber of apathy in my faith the last 5 years (and continues to remind me of the journey I have taken away from a faith void from risks and suffering).
A word that Francis constantly uses is crazy. How there should be nothing normal about this interaction we have with Jesus, this faith that we embrace- there's no such thing as a "lukewarm" Christian. It's as much as an oxymoron as country music or Microsoft Works. We are called to take risks, live a crazy life filled with loving enemies, rejoicing in the crap of life, repaying evil with good, turning our cheek- selfless love.
But what if we applied this craziness to our friendships? What if we ventured away from friendships based on selfishness and the personal benefits involved and transitioned to ones built on the true nature of love: a deep yearning for what's best for the other person.
Check out the story of Nathan and David in 2 Samuel 12 today. Pay special attention to the focus Nathan has in his interaction with David- not merely on the sin, but more importantly on the God who lives in unapproachable light who is infinitely more fulfilling than the darkness. He also stresses the immense call on David's life.
But also think about the situation for a second here: Homeboy had to tell his friend that he knew about his secrets, the darkness of sex and murder that David had embraced. Had to call out a king. Not the easiest of conversations. Umm...actually David could have had Nathan killed for even bringing the conversation up if he wanted. But here's the thing about following this God-man, Immanuel, Jesus...it's not meant to be easy. It's meant to be revolutionary. You could even say crazy.
So what friends are God calling you to pull a Nathan with? To shed off some selfishness and embrace some craziness?
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