Be Foolish...Think Like Jesus!

Brennan Manning is one of my favorite writers! I just finished reading his latest book and it does not disappoint! Manning has a way of saying things that cause me to literally put the book down, grab my mug of coffee, sit back and think about how I can make what he says more a part of my love affair with Jesus!

So this book took me like two weeks to read because about every minute or two I am sitting back thinking about what I just read.

Here are two quotes off page 123 that caused me to sit back!

"Jesus's self-awareness and unflagging zeal in his ministry must be seen in direct and unceasing relation to his interior life of growing intimacy with the Father. We must not lose sight of this logical link; the primacy of mission and his consuming zeal for proclaiming the kingdom of God derive not from theological reflection, the desire to edify others, trendy spirituality, or a loose sense of goodwill toward the world. Its wellspring is God's holiness and Jesus's self-awareness of his relation to God."

This quote stopped me to consider where I get my zeal for doing ministry. Often it is from the unceasing relation to my exterior life. My desire for recognition, obesession with my self and the belief that my ministry needs me to lead it are the very things that make my zeal empty and not affecting eternity. May my zeal this fall come from the development of the interior life of growing intimacy with my Father in Heaven! I love how Manning finishes this thought,

"The heart of God is Jesus's hiding place, a strong protective space where God is near, where connection is renewed, where trust, love, and self-awareness never die but are continually rekindled."