Did you happen to read the title of this post and start humming a song from the 1960s? Coming across the phrase Tell Him while reading Francis Chan’s Crazy Love, I began to vocalize the lyrics to The Exciters’ song I wasn’t even consciously aware that I knew: I know something about love/You’ve gotta want it bad/If that guy’s got into your blood/Go out and get him/If you want him to be the very part of you/That makes you want to breathe, here’s the thing to do/Tell him that you’re never gonna leave him/Tell him that you’re always gonna love him/Tell him, tell him, oh, tell him, tell him right now. Are you singing along now? If not, you can always click the link below to listen and satisfy your curiosity.

Interestingly, after getting completely distracted from the notes I was making from Crazy Love about loving God, and performing a search for the Tell Him information, I returned to the original concept, but with a slightly different perspective. What if I read the lyrics from above in the context of loving Christ? Go ahead and try it. I’ll wait! Perhaps you don’t experience Stepped On Toes like I do, but it does force me to consider how much I really love my Savior. Is this a love only communicated with my words, or do my actions align with the feeling as well?

Considering these uncomfortable questions led me to locate another book, like Crazy Love, that I hadn’t perused in years entitled Falling in Love With Jesus. In fact, after struggling to really relate to the intimacy of what these two amazing authors describe, I noticed from notes in the book how often I had attempted to re-read this in the past. The first read in 2010 was completed when I still held out hope that marriage could still be a possibility in the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, the 2018 reading did not find the bookmark moving past chapter 1. Perhaps a 2023 read will allow me to grapple with these issues once again, along with the challenging content from Francis Chan. However, it’s Chan’s words that voice this longing in my heart, so I won’t attempt to make any improvements.

Chan challenges readers with this: “Tell Him that He isn’t the most important thing in this life to you, and that you’re sorry for that. Tell Him that you’ve been lukewarm, that you’ve chosen _____ over Him time and again. Tell Him that you want Him to change you, that you long to genuinely enjoy Him. Tell Him how you want to experience true satisfaction and pleasure and joy in your relationship with Him. Tell Him you want to love Him more than anything on this earth. Tell Him you want to treasure the kingdom of heaven so much that you’d willingly sell everything in order to get it. Tell Him what you like about Him, what you appreciate, and what brings you joy.” Now, I’d even add a few of The Exciters’ lyrics here: I know something about love/You gotta show it…Reach out and get him…Tell Him that you’re never gonna leave him… Tell Him, tell him, oh, tell him, Tell Him right now.

I’ll conclude this post with a prayer that perhaps might be meaningful for you as well: “Jesus, I need to give myself up. I am not strong enough to love You and walk with You on my own. I can’t do it, and I need You. I need You deeply and desperately. I believe You are worth it, that You are better than anything else I could have in this life or the next. I want You. And when I don’t, I want to want You. Be all in me. Take all of me. Have Your way with me.” Amen.

References:

Brestin, D. & Triccoli, K. (2022). Falling in love with Jesus: Abandoning Yourself to the Greatest Romance of your life. Thomas Nelson.

Chan, F. (2008). Crazy love: Overwhelmed by a relentless God. David C. Cook.

Russell, B. (1962). Tell Him. The Exciter’s on Tell Him. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ajcWXyDv6A