The Furious Longing of God [Hardcover]

I don't agree with everything Brennan Manning has to say in this book but I enjoyed the way he said it. Manning pulls no punches, whether telling what it was like to be kicked by a woman when he was an alcoholic, explaining his regret over ignoring a poor woman who wanted to speak to him when he was talking to some millionaire friends or railing against those nice Christians who live moral lives and go to church every week but who fail to see that "[T]he gospel is absurd and the life of Jesus is meaningless unless we believe that He lived, died and rose again with but one purpose in mind: to make brand-new creations."

Manning uses examples from his life, from scripture and from literature (including Don Quixote) to make his point. At the end of each chapter is a "consider this" section where the reader is given two points to consider.

I am sure that a book like this will cause different people to feel and understand different things. As a result I am leery of stating what Manning is saying about anything unless I limit it to my understanding because I am sure others will feel differently.

What I got from this book is that Manning's message is that God loves us. In fact he explains that the genesis of this book is a passage from the Song of Songs that he has prayed for the past 30 years. "I AM MY BELOVED'S, AND HIS DESIRE IS FOR ME" (7:10). Manning's message is that fully grasping that love and loving God back can change lives.

My one complaint is that while the book reads well, I wish Manning would explain things more. Some chapters are as short as four pages (while one was 27 pages) and I was left wanting more.

For example in the book in an 18 page chapter entitled "our Father" a 78 year old nun came to Manning for healing explaining that she had been sexually abused by her father when she was a child and as a result had lived with hatred of herself and her father for her whole life to the point where she had trouble receiving Holy Communion.

Manning does not mention this but the Catholic Church teaches that once consecrated the Eucharist is no longer bread but the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. As a Catholic, receiving Communion is a special gift for me and it brings me closer to Jesus. I assume from the way Manning writes that the nun's anger stopped her from receiving Jesus and getting close to Him but I am not sure.

Manning told the nun to pray "ABBA, I BELONG TO YOU" in the morning for the next 30 days. As a result she was healed of her anger and felt inner piece she had never had. This is amazing.

The problem is Manning does not really explain more. I want to understand more of this healing and the connection to God's love. How was the nun able to let go of her anger? Is knowing that God loves you and saying those five words enough to cure all who suffered from abuse? It seems too simple.

Another example of wanting to understand more is in a four page chapter called "giving" where Manning says being a nice moral Christian who goes to Church every week and opposes abortion and reads the bible on occasion and holds the door open for people is not enough. He says the Jesus lived, died and rose again to make brand new creations.

I have read that chapter over an over again to fully understand his message since I could be considered by some "a nice moral Christian who goes to Church every week and opposes abortion and reads the bible on occasion and holds the door open for people." I am not sure if I should be offended or looking for more in my spiritual life. I fail to get his point. Perhaps it's me or perhaps four pages are not enough to fully explain such a powerful statement.

I felt Manning's fire when I read this book. I felt his honesty. He has had a complicated life and he shared it warts and all. He loves God and knows God loves us all warts and all. He clearly has spent a lot of time thinking about God. I would like to meet him one day to talk about God's love and to see if I just did not get some of his points or if I disagree with him.

I am glad I read the book and would recommend it for those interested in reading about the power of God's love. I am not sure how others will respond to what Manning had to say but that is the fun of book's like this.

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.

This beautifully written little book by the author of The Ragamuffin Gospel is a poetic look into the heart of God. Manning is not interested in the "domesticated, feel-good Jesus of TV evangelism, who is committed to our financial prosperity," but introduces us to "the Christ of John's gospel who has made His home in us" and "invites us to walk with Him daily in humble service even unto death." (p. 69). He looks deeply into prayer, healing, and our union with the God whose furious longing will only be quenched by our being consumed in the fire of His love.

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