Book Review: The Furious Longing of God

Brennan Manning's The Furious Longing of God (2009) must have been a free Kindle offering some time back. I don't recall ever thinking that I must get a book from Brennan Manning.  In fact, I confess I had never heard of him.  He is probably best known for The Ragamuffin Gospel, a book that deeply influenced the late Rich Mullins.

Manning is many things. He is a recovering alcoholic, writer, and former Franciscan priest.  He writes like a poet, employing beautiful language in often rambling prose.  He gets to his destination eventually, though he is not afraid to take unplanned detours along the way. 

The Furious Longing of God is about what it says.  It is about a God who loves His children passionately. He presents a view of God who rejoices over His children with loud singing (Zephaniah 3:17). He seems to be calling us to remember, every day, the love of God. He then calls us to live in light of that love, pouring our lives into others. 

This is most certainly an engaging text.  Manning writes beautifully. He calls the believer to experience and understand God in ways that many of us probably never have.  This book, if read carefully, will probably generate more emotion than most books.  With that said, I don't think he is careful with his theology. He doesn't necessarily set out to be, but I think that some may read his work and come away with a different, or perhaps incomplete, impression of who God truly is.  In any case, this book is a good read, especially for us more cerebral types. 

"In human beings, love is a quality, a high-prized virtue; in God, love is His identity."-Brennan Manning