ADIEU BRENNAN MANNING

A few days ago a stalwart of our faith passed on to the bosom of our Lord; a place where he was always most comfortable.

Brennan Manning was a great man who lived, ate and breathed the Grace of God. A fantastic writer who moved us with his words. A raggamuffin of a man who did not let the fact that he was flawed (like we all are) deter him from living in relationship with God and ministry. He did not try to conceal his faults, neither did he act like it was alright to have them, he recognised them as faults. However, he did not see it as cause to run away from God. He made us all realise that the Grace of God is bigger than our Sins. His love is absolute. He will never leave us nor forsake us. Towards the end of his Life, he suffered a great deal due to a debilitating disease that left him dependent on a caregiver, however through that circumstance he showed us that regardless of what we go through or where we are in life; All is Grace. Below are two quotes by Brennan that exemplify his writing and what he meant to us

“I want neither a terrorist spirituality that keeps me in a perpetual state of fright about being in right relationship with my heavenly Father nor a sappy spirituality that portrays God as such a benign teddy bear that there is no aberrant behavior or desire of mine that he will not condone. I want a relationship with the Abba of Jesus, who is infinitely compassionate with my brokenness and at the same time an awesome, incomprehensible, and unwieldy Mystery.” 

“My deepest awareness of myself is that I am deeply loved by Jesus Christ and I have done nothing to earn it or deserve it.” ― Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel

Goodbye, Brennan. Rest in the arms of our Divine Lover

THOUGHTS ON EASTER

Hello everyone!!! Happy Easter. Hope you had a splendid time. We had a public holiday from Good Friday till today so it was pretty awesome. Got to spend time with family and friends and eat really nice food, what more can I ask for.

The best part of it is that we get to reflect on the basis of our faith again; the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. this is a pivotal aspect of our faith. Too often, I think due to the grotesque nature of his death, we pay a lot of attention to the crucifixion than every other aspect of the atonement. This is dangerous, this overemphasis leads to almost idol worship of the cross. It is Jesus we serve and worship. Not the symbol of his death for our sins.

But the Bible paints a different picture. Paul the Apostle states it thus

^“12 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³ If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.¹⁵ More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. ¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. ¹⁸ Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. ¹⁹ If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied”….  1 Corinthians 15:12-19

If Jesus had not risen, we have no assurance of our Justification, if he had not risen, we have no inroad into the eternal circle of relationship between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And if he had not risen, it simply would have meant that sin was more powerful than Jesus and death had won. In short, “we are still in our sins”

But praise God that Jesus rose from the dead, never to die again. And he has ascended to the right hand of the Father and taken us right along with him.

I used to wonder, which is more important, the death, the resurrection or the birth of our Lord? I have come to the conclusion that they are all of equal importance. Each event plays a pivotal role in the being of Jesus. However, I strongly believe the resurrection is the event that requires our most rejoicing. It is the culmination of our Lords mission to planet earth. It represents the death of our old man that was condemned by Sin and our newness of life. A life where we can enjoy unbridled fellowship with the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit; free from guilt, condemnation and the constant need to perform at our very best. He loves us just as we are and the resurrection enables us to embrace that love. Therefore, let’s celebrate Easter everyday of our lives, knowing that God has raised Jesus from the dead and we are not in our sins.

May the Grace of our Lord be with you