If I never read another book again as long as I live I will be content.

 

I just finished reading Brennan Manning’s latest book entitled The Furious Longing of God and I can say without risk of exageration, that it is the best book I have ever read. I should also say it is a very personal book and so it won’t be everyone’s "best book ever read" but it is mine.

 

There is only one other book that got my on my knees to pray by the end of it (besides this one) and that was John Stott’s Basic Christianity – and back then that prayer ushered me into the kingdom of God and saved my life.

 

Manning’s book is a short collection of spiritual reflections on the nature of God’s furious love for us and our desperate need to reflect that and believe that above all other things. It is a book written by a man in the twilight of his life at 74; a man who is almost the definition of broken healer. Manning is to the point with his insights. He does not beat around the bush but drives his points straight home with the confidence not of an arrogant man but of one who knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is loved by his creator.

 

Each of the eleven chapters in the book ends with a couple of questions for thoughtful reflection. This makes the book ideal for personal devotions as well as small group settings. It is provocative and ultimately very, very truthful and moving. There are too many quotes worth pulling out to put them all here. One quote which I liked especially sums up one of the main themes – that Christianity must move beyond theoretical head knowledge and legalistic living to something driven by and from the heart. Manning writes: "In times of persecution, theoretical Christianity will collapse."

 

Brenan Manning’s book The Furious Longing of God is a must read. It is an instant classic destined to be read and reread by many until worn out. To read it once is to simply scratch the surface. If you are not Christian and you want a true sense for the heart of this Christ that Christians worship – read this book. If you are Christian and you want to know what it feels like to be soaked in the unbreakable, unbearable, furious longing love of God – read this book. I cannot recommend it highly enough.