You Must Be Crazy: A Lesson from Breakin’ All the Rules

While doing some online browsing one day, I came across a review of a book entitled “The Things We Do for Love” by Kristin Hannah. The title prompted me to deliberate some of the things I did in the name of love, but I could not recall anything that could really be deemed as crazy. I did however recall a story I once read from the pages of someone else’s life.

Apparently, there was a princess who was in love with a young soldier. Her father the king was made aware of this, and he proceeded to give the young soldier the opportunity to marry his daughter. But instead of requesting a dowry, which was customary, the king instead requested one hundred foreskins. No, that was not a typo. Yes, I said foreskins! In exchange for his daughter’s hand in marriage, the king requested that the young soldier provide him with one hundred foreskins. And if that request was not strange enough, not only did the king request foreskins, but the foreskins had to be removed from the genitals of the men of one of the most vicious and feared armies of that era.

Naturally, having heard this request, I was expecting to read that the young soldier consoled himself with the thought that there were plenty of other women. But not only did the young warrior take some of his men to fight members of that feared army, he and his men killed two hundred of them and brought their foreskins in full count to the king. Did you hear me? He brought the king double the amount requested…200 foreskins. That is crazy!!!

One would think that such a story is simply too outlandish to be true, but it is actually an account from the life of David found in 1 Samuel 18: 25-27. The story does have different twists to it because the then reigning king (Saul) had a specific motive in mind for making such an unusual request for foreskins, albeit unbeknown to David. Nevertheless, I have no idea why David would put himself through such an ordeal, except to assume that he knew God was with him and that he really loved this woman.

The movie clip and that story from David’s life make one thing apparent; Love makes you do crazy things! It is the strongest and most powerful emotion we have been given. How do I know? Because God created us that way. We are created in His image and He is the very embodiment of love. God is Love!

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son - John 3:16

That bible verse is widely known and celebrated as a powerful and concise declaration of the gospel. Of the 31,102 verses in the Bible, it is often considered the most popular verse used in evangelism, and for good reason. Firstly, we come to understand the purpose of God’s love: “For God so loved the world”. God didn’t wait for the world to seek Him before showing love to it. He loved and sent His only Son Jesus to the world even when the world wasn’t thinking about God! Secondly, “He gave His only begotten Son”. This portrays both the expression and the act of God’s love. God’s love wasn’t just empathizing with the challenges of a fallen world. God took action and He sacrificed the most valuable gift: His one and only Son.

^{If there is one sentence more than another which sums up the message of the Gospel of John, it is this. The love of God is limitless; it embraces all mankind. No sacrifice was too great to bring its unmeasured intensity home to men and women: the best that God had to give, he gave – his only Son, his well-beloved.} 

F.F. Bruce

Sometimes it’s difficult to process a verse without putting it into a context that I can better identify with. In the case of John 3:16, some of the thoughts I often think of are…what if someone took a bullet for me and survived, or what if I needed a transplant and someone donated an organ…how would my life reflect the tremendous gratitude I would have for that person who made such a sacrifice for me? Nothing I do could repay such generosity, but I sense my life would constantly reflect acts of indebtedness and thankfulness to such a person.

It’s the same when it comes to our response to God’s love for us. When we ponder the significance of God’s sacrifice and the magnitude of His love, it should prompt us to deepen our understanding of His character and to grow in our relationship with Him. We should desire to seek Him and to know Him more, study His Word, and cultivate a personal and intimate connection with Him through prayer and worship. It should also motivate us to emulate this love in our own lives by showing compassion, forgiveness and acceptance to others.

Though we are incomplete, God loves us completely. Though we are imperfect, He loves us perfectly. Though we may feel lost and without compass, God’s love encompasses us completely. … He loves every one of us, even when we are flawed, rejected, awkward, sorrowful, or broken.

Dieter F. Uchtdorf

The love that God has for all people is immense. It knows no boundaries or limitations, extending to every individual, regardless of their background, race or past mistakes. Think of what love made God do. It was God’s love for mankind that motivated Him to offer His only son Jesus as a sacrifice for our sins. I don’t think any parent in their right mind would willingly offer the life of their child to save someone else. But in sending Jesus, God offered His Son to save a dying world. God is crazy about us, and I just wonder if someone looking at my life can exclaim, “Wow, he’s sure crazy about God!”