Love Like Crazy

I heard a rumor that love will make you crazy / Well is it true? / That's no rumor; look at the crazy things that love made Jesus do. / The friends He chose were thought to be outrageous / And you could even find Him touching the contagious / And the craziest is how He chose to save us / He gave His life away, then He had to go and say / "Got to love the same way that I love you."

Love like crazy / The way He loves you and me / 'Cause if the world's ever gonna change / We gotta love like crazy.

These are a few of the lyrics to one of my favourite Chris Rice songs. It's a song that challenges me almost daily. Here's an example.

I spent a week in Nova Scotia at the end of June to help a friend with wedding preparations. We were in Truro one day so that she could get her mani and pedi - and while sitting in the overwhelmingly fumey Queen Nails, I felt a little drowsy and thought, "hmm, maybe a coffee will do the trick" - which is kind of funny, since I'm not a huge coffee fan. But off I went to the Fair Trade Cafe where I ordered and purchased a cafe mocha. On the way in, I passed a man sitting in a wheelchair. Didn't really give him much thought until the way out. As I passed him, I prayed a silent prayer, "Lord, bless him." And within a second or two, I felt silly - how can I pray for God to bless him when I, supposedly Jesus' hands and feet, am not willing to do anything? Something prompted me to give him my cafe mocha. Yes, the cafe mocha that I just bought, the cafe mocha that was going to perk me up so I could be in a good mood for the bride-to-be. I argued with that voice. "No," I thought. "You want me to just go up to him and say, 'Hi, would you like a cafe mocha?' No. It's too weird. He'll probably think I'm crazy. Or maybe I'm only doing it out of pity. I wouldn't want him to think that." Love like crazy, the voice said. I continued to walk, ignoring the voice, until I sat down at a table in the park. I stared at my coffee. "I don't actually need this," I thought. "I don't even really like coffee." I sat there for a good ten minutes before I finally got over my fear of looking stupid. I stood up, turned back towards the cafe, and stopped - the man was gone. I felt foolish to have missed such an opportunity. Such a simple act... a random act of kindness - that was just too much for me to do.

What would happen if we all obeyed the promptings of the Holy Spirit? Even in the seemingly little things... as my beloved example Mama T says, "We can do no great things, just small things with great love. It is not how much you do, but how much love you put into doing it."

I'm sorry, Jesus. Next time, I'll love like You would... even if it looks crazy.

Ephesians 5:15-17