The Furious Longing of God

Unconditional love...

The Furious Longing of God
Brennan Manning
David C. Cook, 2009
ISBN: 9781434767509
Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for ReviewYourBook.com, 1/09
4 stars
Unconditional love¿
Brennan Manning is the author of numerous books, including ¿The Ragamuffin Gospel.¿ Manning¿s message is one of love. God loves us unconditionally; He loves us so much that He was willing to die for us. He offers us grace. There is no love greater than the love God has for each of you.
In The Furious Longing of God, Manning shares his story. He was ¿an alcoholic, a Catholic, a priest, a married man, divorced, and a sinner saved by grace.¿ That is the beginning of Brennan Manning¿s story. Each chapter ends with a question to assist the reader in absorbing the message of the text.
Manning writes in a heartfelt manner. His sincerity is obvious. This is not the message you will hear in typical mainstream churches, which is unfortunate. This is the true gospel of unconditional love.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Life Changing

i don't know of another book that I would recommend higher than this one. It was a breath of fresh air. Manning has a gift for leading up to the scripture and then allowing the scripture to reveal itself as fresh and powerful as you look at it through a new lens.

Breathe deeply and enjoy the feeling of being furiously longed for.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

This is a book that will speak difficult truths into the reader's life.

Brennan Manning's words speak truth that is often difficult to hear, not because of their veracity, but because of the depth to which they call me. He speaks of the Love of God as personal, persistent, fierce and without merit. In a world that expects to "get what you pay for," getting "something for nothing" is absurd, yet Manning insists that God wants to give love to us in a fashion that can only be described as "furious" & all that is required for our gathering that passion is to accept it. Once that acceptance has occurred, one's life has changed. The rub is actually accepting that God loves us that much without doing ANYTHING to deserve or earn it.
This is the at least the third book Mr. Manning has written speaking of the deep, passionate, daring love of God. It would seem this issue is of vital importance to him, as this volume, as do the other books mentioned, presents it in a manner that seems urgent and new. It will take an average reader less than two hours to read this book and reading it through the first time would be best to get a clearer idea of what the author is saying. Then, using this book as a daily reading/reflecting guide will be a better use of the book, its words and the idea(s) Manning is offering. There are practical uses in the chapters and two "consider this" questions at the end of each chapter so giving time to contemplate what has been served will bring a deeper appreciation for the "considerations." His suggestion for a "Breath Prayer" is worth the cost of the book.
Marvelously missing from his work in general and this short tome in particular is any idea of condemnation. He understands, firsthand, what evil condemnation actually is and how damaging and damning that behavior can be. Manning is a man who has experienced failure on a grand scale (he speaks openly of some of these events) yet he refuses to be defined by those events. He understands that he "belongs to Abba," that is his definition and the totality of his Self. He invites his readers to experience this "alien" love for themselves on a deep, personal, radical level.
The furious longing of God is to love His creation passionately, which he does, His gift of Jesus defines that passion. What such love does for us is amazing. It abolishes fear (perfect love casts out all fear, I John 4:8), sets the captive free (Is. 42:7), announces the acceptable day of the Lord, causesthe hungry to be fed and the lonely to be connected. Mr. Manning asks, pointedly, how come it is so hard to accept this magnificent gift. To accept it as a reality, not just as a mental exercise or limit it to mannerly behavior, he suggests, is to be transformed, to let the Holy Spirit to be in control. For many, that is a cost too high. I have to own, such intimacy is a scary thing. There are things about me I do not want to accept; Abba already knows them and still rushes to be near me. Oh, my, what a Savior.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Loved it!

Once again Manning comes through. Although none of this is particualrly new, it is looking at God's love relationship with us through yet another part of the Manning lens. He always inspires and is always so real that his writing is at once godly and yet fully human so we can enter into what he is saying and thinking. I almost always walk away from reading his books with an intact sense of my dignity because of God's gift of grace, yet I also walk away with the desire sans guilt to live my life more fully and practically in response to God's love.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A must read

Brennan Manning is one of the most insightful writers of our time. If you are a father this book will forever change your perception of Our Father. A must read for ragamuffins and everyone.

didn't like it

I have been fortunate enough to see Brennan Manning live a few times and have enjoyed him very much, And while I was excited to pick this book up and read it, I had no idea what to expect from Manning as an author.

The Furious Longing of God

I don¿t know what it was ¿ but I just could not get excited about the book. Mr. Manning writes a little bit like a theologian and a little bit like an existential beat poet. His chapters are short and are pretty easy to get through, but each sentence is so richly crafted that if you¿re not careful, you can read an entire page and then ¿ STOP ¿ and ask. ¿What did I just read?¿ I don¿t mind big words when they are in doctrinal papers and systematic research, but when they are trying to be artsy and ¿deep¿ ¿ my mind will just drift away.



And even after reading it, I don¿t recall much what it was about. Don¿t get me wrong, at times I remember enjoying the book, even thinking to myself how I could totally use that idea in a sermon or two.. it¿s just¿ I don¿t know.. it wasn¿t my ¿type¿ of book.



I think Manning was trying to write about how much God loves us (his children) but that point for me kept drifting away every time the author started talking about himself.



I don¿t know how much I would recommend it, I¿d say pick up Raggamuffin first if you have never read him.

Wow! Reading a second time - this time in a church discussion group

I read Furious Longing shortly after it came out; the only other Manning book that I have read is Abba's Child. I love his thinking and his writing. After I read it, I loaned it to a friend. He proceeded to read it, got hooked, and then proceeded to acquire and read through a number of Brennan's books, this one included, which has now had a second reading by him. Being both involved in the same small group of 11 individuals and having just finished reading and discussing another book, this one is the next thought-provoker upon which to meditate and to discuss when we gather. We are all totally looking forward to these weeks of meetings with Longing as the discussion starter.

Wow

This book hits the heart of the reader...that place in us that longs to know we have a God who wants us to know Him. I loved it and will buy several for friends.

Hes a man after Gods Heart

I have to purchase another copy have given 2 away.

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