This book took courage to write, but that’s not unusual for Brennan Manning—his life was a seventy-nine-year courageous effort—a statement with which he’d disagree diverting attention to God’s ceaseless love and unabashed grace. When he discovered, in his twenties, that God loved him unconditionally, God’s grace became the sustaining source of his purpose and meaning in life. That life was a patchwork assemblage of incongruous parts, including his love of God and alcohol. A friend asked him:
“Brennan, how could you lapse into alcoholism after your Abba encounter?”
“It is possible because I got battered and bruised by loneliness and failure; because I got discouraged, uncertain, guilt-ridden, and took my eyes off Jesus. Because the Christ-encounter did not transfigure me into an angel. Because justification by grace through faith means I have been set in a right relationship with God, not made the equivalent of a patient etherized on a table.”
Later in his life he eschewed the wordiness of that response and substituted this:
Question: “Brennan, how could you relapse into alcoholism after your Abba encounter?”
Answer: “These things happen.”
These words capture the core of how the author describes his life in this memoir. God’s grace and acceptance of him as he is, meant everything to him. The friends who loved him coupled with that untethered grace made him a better sinner. He believed he was, and always would be a sinner, but God-given, relentless grace, and its manifestation through all who loved him and with whom he had contact made him better. If you, as Manning once did, consider yourself a sinner, or unlovable, or unworthy of God’s love, then read this book.
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Okay, so after reviewing two of Brennan Manning’s books you inspired me to want to know more about him and found his final interview on YouTube. He made the interviewer cry by simply being himself. The interviewer made a movie about the Christian artist, Rich Mullins, called Ragamuffin. After listening to Brennan talk, I was able to understand a little more clearly about what he says and writes about letting yourself be loved by God and the solitude he required for that allowing. Which of the two books did you enjoy most? How were you introduced to Brennan Manning?
Jo Anne,
I was introduced to his story in the ’90’s and found kinship with him, and though our struggles were different the shared sense of being unworthy struck me. Both books were and continue to be important in my faith-journey. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Roger
Roger,
I also read Ragamuffin Gospel about a year ago. I found it to be a powerful description of the human condition and the need of personal salvation from the God of creation. The Hound of Heaven loves us in spite of our bent nature. He loves us subjectively, all the time, and feels that everyone and anyone is worth redemption. He is perfectly just and fair. He sent the Hero of Heaven to earth to pay our ransom and demonstrated his grace, mercy, and faithfulness. The Way Maker’s first words on the cross were: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” This truly restores my soul. Thanks for choosing to write about Brennan Manning.
Cy
Cy,
Thank you for these comments. Grace is so beyond me, my understanding, but I’ll grab on and hold tight in spite of my disbelief. We’re all in good company!
Roger