"the furious longing of God"

So.., for my reading time with Pops in the morning and evenings, I have been blending a bit of scripture along with reading a newer book of Brennan Manning's called "the furious longing for God". I am only in the second chapter and this book is rockin my world. Here are a few quotes to wet your whistle:

"Employing adjectives such as furious, passionate, vehement, and aching to describe the longing of God are my mumbling and fumbling to express the Inexpressible. Both theology, which is faith seeking understanding, and spirituality, which is the faith-experience of what we understand intellectually, offer a glimpse in the mystery" (pg. 30). This was his paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 13:12. Love it!

Two quotes on one page (pg. 32) - "Elsewhere I've written that Jesus came not only for those who skip morning meditations, but also for the real sinners, thieves, adulterers, and terrorists, for those caught up in teh squalid choices of failed dreams"; and adding on to this similar vain - "The men and women who are truly filled with light are those who have gazed deeply into the darkness of their own imperfect existence." Wow! (Matthew 9:13)

Last one (pg. 37-38) - "The closer I come to death, the less inclinced I am to limit the wisdom and infinity of God. The confession of John the apostle that "God is Love" is the fundamental meaning of the holy and adorable Trinity. Put bluntly, God is sheer Being-in-Love and there was never a time when God was not Love. The foundation of the furious longing of God is the Father who is the originating Lover, the Son who is the full self-expression of that Love, and the Spirit who is the original and inexhaustible activity of that Love, drawing the created universe into itself."

This book is both tender and raw - much like the furious Love of God for us. I would highly recommend it for the bookshelf of your heart.