Three days ago while purchasing a devotional for a friend, I came across a book with a unique title from a familiar author, "The Furious Longing of God" by Brennan Manning. To be honest, I originally read the title as "The Furious Longing FOR God," and thought I may be able to use it as fodder for a sermon series in the coming year. It was not until I placed the book on my night stand next to my new copy of "Streams in the Desert" did I realize I had miss-read the title. I can tell that now, 136 pages later I am thankful for the of.
As I journeyed with Manning through the text, i began to see the love of God in a whole new way. Manning does not give new, greater insight into any particular passage of scripture, or expound and exegete a red letter phrase as to revolution ones view. Actually it is all as simple as my mistaken reading of the title, because for me "of" made all the difference. What I began to see as I read is that the furious longing of God is you and me. He so desperately longed for us that he came to this, taking on flesh - that is Jesus. The same furious longing which brought Christ to Earth drove him to the cross. God's love for you and for me is intense, fierce, relentless. We are the furious longing of His heart. It is the furious longing of God that leads us to the furious longing for God
"...He first loved us"
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