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Book Review – Abba's
Child |
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by Brennan Manning
Review by Tom Gilbert
A secure child has a sense of being loved. This is one
of the key concepts in Abba’s
Child by Brennan Manning (NavPress).
The idea that God truly loves each of us, just for who
we are, without condition and continuously despite our
many mistakes, failings and hang-ups, is something that
you might struggle with. I do. Certainly the author does,
as he relates so honestly in this updated edition.
Everyone goes through spiritual dry spells. Often out
of the desert experience we grow in our intimacy with
God. Achieving real intimacy is the heart of this book.
How else can we use the term “Abba”? This
endearing name for our heavenly Father, literally “Daddy”,
is not one we will use as long as we are afraid and insecure
in our relationship to the Divine.
In the chapter the book takes its name from, Manning relates
an experience from a self-directed retreat. He was into
day five of this 8-day excursion into the soul and feeling
disoriented, scattered and bored. He was dried up. Finally
he went to the chapel and remained there, unmoving and
alert, in a straight-backed chair for thirteen hours!
His “great stare” meditation ended with a
phrase ringing in his head and heart: “live in the
wisdom of accepted tenderness”.
The difficulty of writing this type of book must be the
constant tension between knowing and accepting that God
loves you personally, and trying to convey that same truth
to the reader. We all probably want to accept this truth.
We simply cannot just because someone else has. It must
be experienced. Yet, we can be nudged closer to opening
ourselves to the truth. Here is the power and beauty of
“Abba’s Child”. Manning exhorts us to
trust that we are loved tenderly by God. We, too, can
cry out “Abba!” when we let go of the false
self (he names it the “Imposter”) and become
childlike in our heartfelt wonder for God’s unconditional
loving.
There can be no room for legalism, prejudice and spiritual
pride. As we progress on our path the tendency will be
towards these dark traits. No wonder that Jesus had such
sharp words for the Pharisees. Manning reminds us to look
at our own tendencies to judge, to be like a Pharisee,
and that we must continually root out this sin.
It can seem like a never ending circle. When will the
imposter finally exit? This book tackles the hard questions
and leads us, shining the light of personal experience
in the hopes that we will follow and emerge from our shadows.
Not only must we emerge from our shadows and expose the
imposter for the imitator he is, we must also firmly come
to grips with our true self. The real you, good and bad…and
God loving you in spite of, even because of, your nature
(both good and bad). Only a truly loving father can love
this way. Only the honest realization that we are Abba’s
children will allow us to accept it.
Take this message together with a resurrected Messiah,
the first of many to call God “Abba”, and
you witness the real power of God’s plan. This is
precisely why Jesus is the way. The message of Christianity
is Christ is risen! God becomes our father, mother, brother
and sister. Manning lays this out as the center piece
in the chapter “Present Risenness”. After
building the case of our need to be Abba’s child
in the previous chapters he exclaims this great news.
Indeed, it is the Good News proclaimed in the New Testament.
We experience, through faith, the risen Christ.
Once we experience this present risenness of Christ we
become convinced that life is not, and cannot be, meaningless.
A keen insight is seeing that Christ is risen
and present now in our lives. Not just an event in the
past, or a glorious future occurrence (the second coming).
This is crucial, because it changes how we view our savior.
“Here and now” is more powerful and more relevant
to our daily living. Or, as the author put it, “faith
in the present risenness of Jesus carries with it life-changing
implications for the gritty routine of daily life”.
For in seeing Jesus resurrected and alive in our lives,
even this very day, reminds us that God is truly with
us.
Ultimately, this book strives to awaken in each of us
the knowledge and acceptance that we are beloved in the
very same way as the apostle John. If you can get there,
you too, will rest your head on the breast of Jesus. What
a beautiful image. Put that together with images of Jesus
putting his arms around children, and you get a much needed
perspective of our place in the family of God.
This book is not one to be speed read. Take your time
with it. Perhaps you will also utilize the study guide
in the back. It is a challenge, but definitely worth taking.
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Scripture taken from the
Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.Copyright ©
1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights
reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International
Bible Society.
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered
trademarks of International Bible Society. Use of either
trademark for the offering of goods or services requires
the prior written consent of International Bible Society.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy
Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used
by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton,
IL 60189, USA. All rights reserved.
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