The Furious Longing of God

I am in Day 2 of my fasting from TV. 

I am reading again. 

I have heard of Brennan Manning and the popularity of his books but I never did find out more about him though I did purchase a few of his book in my Kindle. 

I decided to read The Furious Longing of God, and it was exactly what I needed. 

The Furious Longing of God

by Brennan Manning

Manning was a master and expert on words. He really had a way with it. Mark Batterson who wrote the foreword to the book said, "Brennan has a raw poetic writing style that puts him in rare writing company. His words will gracefully confront the status quo in your life and reawaken a deep desire to know the One who desires you. Brennan also has a way of putting into words the subliminal fears and hopes and desires many of us have a difficult time verbalizing. That’s why his books resonate with readers on such a deep level."

The book touches on Christian Spirituality and how furiously God loves us. 

Both theology, which is faith seeking understanding, and spirituality, which is the faith-experience of what we understand intellectually, offer a glimpse into the mystery. Now we see only reflections in a mirror, mere riddles (1 Cor. 13: 12).

The men and women who are truly filled with light are those who have gazed deeply into the darkness of their own imperfect existence.

However, I find myself getting wary of it getting too loose on the grace of God. The book seem to elevate the love of God without enough mention of the grace of God and how undeserving we are of it. 

Manning said, "if we continue to view ourselves as moral lepers and spiritual failures, if our lives are shadowed by low self-esteem, shame, remorse, unhealthy guilt, and self-hatred, we reject the teaching of Jesus and cling to our negative self-image."

It is true that those qualities are not what God wants in our lives. There is after all no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 

Maybe it's just me, but I cannot read the book with reckless abandon, though that was what I felt when I read it - to really immerse myself in the furious longing of God. 

To simply be in his presence all the days of my life. 

pearlie