I am my beloved's and his desire is for me.
(song of solomon 7:10)
Imagine if this was you story... an alcoholic, Catholic, ex-Catholic, and then Catholic again, former priest, divorcee and a sinner saved by grace.
What would you write about?
I'd hope no matter how many stories you told and no matter how many books you wrote, you'd always go back to reminding folks about God's Amazing Grace. It's "the larger and more important story. Only God, in His fury, knows the whole of it."
Brennan Manning writes in his latest offering:
In my forty-four years of ministry, the furious love of God has been the dominant theme of my life. I've varied with titles such as Ragamuffin Gospel, Abba's Child and The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus, but they are all facets of the same gem: that the shattering truth of the transcendent God seeking intimacy with us is not well served by gauzy sentimentality, schmaltz, or a naked appeal to emotion, but rather in the boiling bouillabaisse of shock bordering on disbelief, wonder akin to incredulity, and the affectionate awe tinged by doubt.
I've been surprised to read some of the reviews of Manning's latest book, "The Furious Longing of God." Many seem to think its a book just for the downtrodden, those with low self-esteem, those who need a pick-me-up. But I'm certain we all need reminders of God's furious love for each of us - each and every day.
We all need to be reminded that the living God is passionate and furious longing to have an intimate loving relationship with each of us. It's no wonder that Jesus and Scripture often refer to the relationship between God and man as similar to the relationship between a groom and his bride. It's a union.
A union that "not only transcends every political, social, cultural and religious consideration and not only infuses them with ultimate meaning, but defines the very purpose of life itself."
We need to be reminded that not only does God have this furious longing for us, but also "for real sinners, thieves, adulterers and terrorists, for those caught up in squalid choices and failed dreams."
When we realize how passionate God is about us -- and that that same passion extends to the far reaches of man-kind -- how can we ever choose to ignore those around us?
"The Kingdom of God is not a subdivision for the self-righteous or for those who lay claim to private visions of doubtful authenticity and boast they possess the state secret of their salvation. No, as Eugene Kennedy notes, "it is for a larger, homelier, and less self-conscious people who know they are sinners because they have experienced the yaw and pitch of moral struggle."
We can claim to be missional, loving Christians all day long, but until we put together the ideas that it is no longer us, but Christ living in us and that "the living acts of a Christian somehow become the living acts of Christ" alongside with the idea that God has a furious longing for each of us -- we're missing out on so much.
"For His love is never, never, never based on our performance, never conditioned by our moods -- of elation or depression. The furious love of God knows no shadow of alteration or change. It is reliable. And always tender."
And thus our love for others should be the same. We should have the same love for our spouses, our kids, our parents, our siblings, our extended family, our neighbors, our co-workers, those who are easy to love and those who are not so easy to love.
The book itself is full of great examples of the deep, deep, reckless, fury that we call the love of God. I want you all to read it and want to pass my copy off to so many others - but selfishly I want to hold on to it and refer back to it over and over again.
Say what you will about my "lack of self-worth" or my "need for affirmation" but I still need those daily reminders in my life -- of the deep, deep love of God -- not just for me -- but for all mankind.
