Not written by me, but by a friend. I'm not so eloquent.

'Jesus, are You crazy?'

I saw these words displayed as a piece of art at a friends house a few days ago. Though interesting, the words didn't really strike me until about 48 hours later. Over the course of those 48 hours, I experienced what I'm afraid is a very familiar cycle:

one hour, my heart was so overwhelmed with the glorious beauty of the knowledge of the gospel that I thought it might explode; the next, I was using that glorious grace as license to sin against a holy God. With one breath, I was blessing the God of my salvation, but with the next, cursing the righteousness He's called me to.

As His kindness always does, I found myself led to repentance (quick repentance, thanks to His tender mercies) but as I first approached His throne of grace--disgusted with my repetitive idolatry and harlotry--I couldn't help but wonder, quite seriously, "Jesus, are you crazy?"

Why would you ever offer mercy to your enemies in the first place?
Why would to freely give endless grace to those who hated you?
Why would you give your life for people who would continue to mock you?

Why would you adopt a child, diseased and disfigured by sin,
and through disobedience, foolishness, rebellion, and self-inflicted sickness,
continue to call her your well-beloved daughter?
Why would you choose your betrothed from out of a whore-house,
and though she discards the white dress you dress her in,
runs from the safe house you have built her,
leaves your arms to cling to other cruel lovers,
You repeat your vows to her-- without ceasing you whisper,
“I will betroth you to me forever;
I will betroth you in righteousness and justice,
in love and compassion.
I will betroth you in faithfulness,
and you will acknowledge the LORD.”

Jesus, are you crazy?

Later, I was processing some of this with my friend Aubrey and he put it well: Grace is not reasonable. Justice is reasonable. And substitionary justice is not reasonable. The fact that Christ died for us is not reasonable because unconditional love is not reasonable. It's true that it is reasonable in a sense because in the end God will receive the glory, but it's still a little crazy. Jesus is a little crazy. And I'm glad he is.


So with a deep knowledge of myself as a sickly and rebellious daughter
and as an unfaithful, adulterous wife,
I will daily put on the stark-white garments of mercies that are new every morning,
And though, while I dress myself in the shining righteousness of Jesus,
and as I take my place at His banqueting table and in His loving arms,
I may occasionally pause and nervously wonder, "Jesus, are you crazy?"

Then I will raise my eyes to look into His eyes of blazing fire,
I hear Him continually whisper His vows,
and I will rest, in humility and with immeasurable adoration,
upon His crazy, crazy unconditional love.




"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD.

"As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts." -Isaiah 55:8&9

"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." -Romans 5:6-8