Sin and forgiveness and falling and getting back up and losing the pearl of great price in the couch cushions but then finding it again, and again, and again? Those are the stumbling steps to becoming Real, the only script that's really worth following in this world or the one that's coming.
Brennan ManningOur huffing and puffing to impress God, our scrambling for brownie points, our thrashing about trying to fix ourselves while hiding our pettiness and wallowing in guilt are nauseating to God and are a flat denial of the gospel of grace.
Brennan ManningJesus comes for sinners, for those outcast...and those caught up in squalid choices and failed dreams.
Brennan ManningDo you believe that the God of Jesus loves you beyond worthiness and unworthiness, beyond fidelity and infidelityโthat he loves you in the morning sun and in the evening rainโthat he loves you when your intellect denies it, your emotions refuse it, your whole being rejects it. Do you believe that God loves without condition or reservation and loves you this moment as you are and not as you should be.
Brennan Manning