Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Brennan Manning has been someone whose books God has used to form my life.  Here is a quote from his book Abba's Child (p. 110). May it bless you too.

"Without deliberate awareness of the present risenness of Jesus, life is nonsense, all activity useless.  Apart from the risen Christ we live in a world of impenetrable mystery and utter obscurity -- a world without meaning . . . a world of inexplicable futility.

"Living in the awareness of the risen Jesus is not a trivial pursuit for the bored and lonely or a defense mechanism enabling us to cope with the stress and sorrow of life.  It is the key that unlocks the door to grasping the meaning of existence.

"All day and every day we are being reshaped into the image of Christ.  Everything that happens to us is designed to this end.  Nothing that exists can exist beyond the pale of His presence, nothing is irrelevant to it, nothing is without significance in it . . .Through union with Him nothing is wasted, nothing is missing.  There is never a moment that does not carry eternal significance -- no action that is sterile, no love that lacks fruition, and no prayer that is unheard.  "We know that by turning everything to their good God cooperates with all those who love him." (Romans 8:28).  The apparent frustrations of circumstances, seen or unforseen, of illness, of misunderstandings, even of our own sins, do not thwart the final fulfillment of our lives hidden with Christ in God."

Yours for the journey.

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