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The dominant characteristic of an authentic spiritual life is the gratitude that flows from trust — not only for all the gifts that I receive from God, but gratitude for all the suffering. Because in that purifying experience, suffering has often been the shortest path to intimacy with God.

Brennan Manning

The sorrow of God lies in our fear of Him, our fear of life, and our fear of ourselves. He anguishes over our self-absorption and self-sufficiency… God’s sorrow lies in our refusal to approach Him when we sinned and failed.
BRENNAN MANNING

Failure Fear God Himself Life Lying Sin Sorrow
To be alive is to be broken; to be broken is to stand in need of grace.
BRENNAN MANNING

Alive Break Grace Need Religious Stand
Childlike surrender and trust, I believe, is the defining spirit of authentic discipleship.
BRENNAN MANNING

Authentic Believe Childhood Discipline Spirit Surender Trust
Our 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 MANNING

God Grace Impression Scripture Try
The gospel declares that no matter how dutiful or prayerful we are, we can’t save ourselves. What Jesus did was sufficient.
BRENNAN MANNING

Declare Prayer Save Scripture Sufficient
Hope knows that if great trials are avoided great deeds remain undone and the possibility of growth into greatness of soul is aborted.
BRENNAN MANNING

Avoid Greatness Growth Hope Soul
There is an essential connection between experiencing God, loving God, and trusting God. You will trust God only as much as you love him. And you will love him to the extent you have touched him, rather that he has touched you.
BRENNAN MANNING

Connection Essential Experience God Love Touch Yourself
Tragedy is that our attention centers on what people are not, rather than on what they are and who they might become.
BRENNAN MANNING

Attention Be Yourself People Tragedy
We even refuse to be our true self with God- and then wonder why we lack intimacy with him.
BRENNAN MANNING

God Himself Intimacy True
Whatever we have done in the past, be it good or evil, great or small, is irrelevant to our stance before God today. It is only NOW that we are in the presence of God.
BRENNAN MANNING

Day Evil Goodness Ourselves Past Presence
God loves you unconditionally, as you are and not as you should be, because nobody is as they should be.
BRENNAN MANNING

Be Yourself God Love Original
Our identity rests in God’s relentless tenderness for us revealed in Jesus Christ.
BRENNAN MANNING

God Identity Ourselves Reveal Tender
I am wonderfully content with a God who does not deal with me as my sins deserve.
BRENNAN MANNING

Content Deserve God Myself Sin Wonderful
How glorious the splendor of a human heart that trusts that it is loved!
BRENNAN MANNING

Glory Heart Human Love Trust
we unwittingly project onto God our own attitudes and feelings toward ourselves… But we cannot assume that He feels about us the way we feel about ourselves — unless we love ourselves compassionately, intensely, and freely.
BRENNAN MANNING

Assumption Attitude Compassionate Freedom God Projection
To lend each other a hand when we’re falling, perhaps that’s the only work that matters in the end.
BRENNAN MANNING

Each Other End Fall Hands Hard Time Support Work

The dominant characteristic of an authentic spiritual life is the gratitude that flows from trust — not only for all the gifts that I receive from God, but gratitude for all the suffering. Because in that purifying experience, suffering has often been the shortest path to intimacy with God.

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The dominant characteristic of an authentic spiritual life is the gratitude that flows from trust — not only for all the gifts that I receive from God, but gratitude for all the suffering. Because in that purifying experience, suffering has often been the shortest path to intimacy with God.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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