Welcome to the Crazy Love Podcast.

Do you ever find yourself running on this never-ending hamster wheel of trying to win other

people's approval to stave off insecurity?

In today's episode, Francis Chan shares the first part of a conversation with his longtime

friend, Ryan Takosugi, and they discuss trying to earn man's approval over the liberating,

but sometimes frightening path of receiving the love of God.

So this is always a little hard, but I feel like it's harder with me because nobody

knows me.

Well, yeah, kind of, but I mean, so Ryan's a friend of mine, we've been a part of the church

how long?

I think about eight years now.

Okay, and I mean, the reason why I wanted to do this with you is we had a conversation

in the car a couple of weeks ago, and I don't know if I told you, but as we're driving up

the mountain, I almost just burst into tears, and I don't know, there was something in

me that just refrained from it, you know, just that stupid, so you know, image thing, but

everything in my heart just wanted to just cry, because some of the things you said

about being loved by God, being able to receive love, the difference between approval and

love, the things you were saying about your workplace, and just that idea of insecurity,

and I mean, I've repeated those, it's only been two weeks, but literally, literally thousands

and thousands of people have heard about our conversation and the things I learned there,

and so I mean, literally thousands and thousands, because it was so healing for me, and it has

set me on this path of enjoyment of God, and even yesterday at one of our gatherings,

...