In a followup to my last post regarding the Ruined Soul I have been drawn to Brennan Manning’s writing in The Importance of Being Foolish: How To Think Like Jesus. Manning points out that our inability to give an honest account of our life is hardened when Christians fail to comprehend the radical demands of Jesus Christ and His Gospel. He writes:
The demands of the gospel bring us to the vivid awareness of our weakness and imperfection. They stun us, reduce our overestimation of ourselves and make us realize how limited we are. This realization–when we allow it to infiltrate our hearts–keeps us from smugness, complacency, and the self-sufficiency that poisons spirituality. God’s Word wakes us up to our need. Until we submit our lives to the judgment of the gospel and the standards of goodness and virtue established by Jesus, there can be no profound consciousness of being a sinner in need of mercy. How many of us have actually tasted that truth that we are saved; that we do not save ouselves; that in very truth we are poor, weak sinners with hereditary faults and limited virtues; that we are God’s children not by our merit but by God’s mercy.” (26)
Each of us must come to the point of confessing:
So, I need you Jesus. Desperately. Your Word has awakened my soul, over and over to the incredible and breathtaking heights of your Way. I am not sufficient for the climb. Have mercy on me a sinner. Forgive my unbelief, unforgiveness, unwillingness, unlovelyness. Set me on the path of life. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. You are Lord.
