The older I get, the more I see trust in God as an act of extreme violence. Brennan Manning called it “Ruthless Trust,” an unwavering, relentless confidence in the love that God has for me. The reason it is violent (and necessarily so) is because the enemies of love (the world, the flesh and the devil) become increasingly violent in their opposition to encroaching love.
Sanctification could be defined as receiving the love of God our Father more and more broadly and deeply as we age and face more and more situations of need. The love we received yesterday or last year won’t do in the face of the newest threat; we must have a fresh supply, or we won’t make it. This is the Christian life! His mercies (necessarily) are new every morning.
The faithful ragamuffins who tenaciously cling to the bloodied and broken Christ as their only sure sign that God loves them, are the ones who do acts of extreme violence to a world that values strength, power and success above all else. These are citizens of a different kingdom, a “world of love” as Jonathan Edwards called it, who increasingly find no home here.
No comments:
Post a Comment