CRAZY!

Galatians 3 (The Message)

 ¹ You crazy Galatians! Did someone put a hex on you? Have you taken leave of your senses? Something crazy has happened, for it's obvious that you no longer have the crucified Jesus in clear focus in your lives. His sacrifice on the cross was certainly set before you clearly enough.

 ^2-4Let me put this question to you: How did your new life begin? Was it by working your heads off to please God? Or was it by responding to God's Message to you? Are you going to continue this craziness? For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. If you weren't smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do you suppose you could perfect it? Did you go through this whole painful learning process for nothing? It is not yet a total loss, but it certainly will be if you keep this up!

I love being athletic director for Garrett High School.  I love the daily contact with the students and especially with the athletes.  I can truly say I have fun at my job.  To share Paul's term, High School Students are CRAZY. But, they are fun to be around.  They certainly are not perfect and I have found myself saying to them on more than one occasion, "What were you thinking? Are you crazy?"  I might have asked the same question as Paul, "Did someone put a hex on you? Have you taken leave of your senses?" When I was coaching cross country I had a talented group of runners that were ornery, to say the least.  We nicknamed them Juvi 1, Juvi 2, and Juvi 3. (Juvi was short for juvenile delinquent.)  I spent so much time with these kids and they used to drive me crazy. Don't get me wrong I have the best memories about cross country camp, carving names in pick-up trucks and winning a Cross Country meet by default. The greatest memory I have is nearing the end of the season, sitting in the back of the bus with the team and everyone saying they didn't want the season to end. I didn't want it to end either. I have such fond memories of these CRAZY student-athletes. It truly was one of the best times of my life.  They really weren't juvenile delinquents.  They were crazy, for sure, but I love them deeply to this day.

When I read Paul's comments to the churches at Galatia, I could somehow relate to how God feels about us.  He loves us so much, even though sometimes I am sure he is so puzzled with how we act.  I am sure he is amazed at how we work so hard at pleasing him and still don't get it.  I am sure he would call us Crazy in how we go about serving him and making the mistakes we do.  He is amazed at how we lose the message he has given us and how we lose touch with how we were saved. Yet, even though he witnesses our craziness on a daily basis, he truly loves being around us.  He loves the time he has with us and he longs for more.  There is nothing we could do to destroy the feelings he has for us. He knows we're crazy, sometimes to the point of causing him pain, but he offers his grace to us regardless. When you think about it, How crazy is that?

Dear Lord, Thank you for loving us so much.  Thanks for looking past our craziness and still wanting to be with us.  Thanks for your grace!  As the song says, it truly is amazing! Amen!