Abba's Child (by Brennan Manning)

(Amazon UK link)

I always appreciate the thoughtful books written by the late Brennan Manning. I have acquired many of them over the past couple of decades, and every so often I re-read one of them. Recently I’ve delved into ‘Abba’s Child’, which I last read in 2014. It’s a tad heavy-going in places, so it’s taken me a few weeks but I finished it this morning.

The subtitle is ‘The cry of the heart for intimate belonging’, and that’s really the theme of the book. Manning’s books mostly focus on the passionate love that God has for his people. He talks about how most of us hide behind masks, and that what we show to the world is the ‘impostor’ rather than our true selves.

The first chapter starts with an allegorical story, highlighting the way that many Christians see God. A boy has a prayer answered, and thinks his family are going to be pleased and proud of him. Then he loses what he found, and becomes terrified. Some believers, Manning asserts (maybe most) see themselves as primarily hateful and find it very difficult to understand God’s overwhelming love and grace.

The ‘impostor’ is explained in chapter two, with many examples to balance the somewhat weighty explanations. He gives a quotation from Susan Howatch’s novel ‘Glittering Images’, which shows very clearly how one fictional man did all he could to gain approval of his mentor. He had to hide his thoughts, and turn the conversation around to the other person rather than admit who he was inside, and what sins he had committed. 

It’s easy to relate to the impostor, who wants us to look or behave better than our nature would suggest. Not that we should go around being unkind, but our kindness and altruistic acts should be because we are followers of Jesus, filled with his love, not because we want to gain his approval. And certainly not because we want to be seen doing these things, to get kudos from others around us. Instead we need to accept the imposter within, as part of who we are, and work alongside, as we offer ourselves to God.

Other chapters talk more about God’s love. As a parent and grandparent, I entirely understand the concept of all-encompassing unconditional love that will never let go. Nothing my sons or grandchildren could say or do would stop me loving them, and wanting what is best for them. And my love is just a tiny fraction of how God perceives us. Yet somehow it’s not easy to take that on board, day by day, when we’re feeling angry, or frustrated, or just don’t get things done when we should. God loves us anyway.

There’s a lot more in this book, much to think about and principles to believe in. It’s not that there’s anything new, but as a fallible person I need regular prompts to remember who I am in Christ, and that my actions, thoughts and behaviours don’t make any difference to how much I am loved. Of course it’s not always possible to be our authentic selves with everyone we meet, or we would cause offence or annoyance. But we can be aware of the impostor within, finding a balance between brutal bluntness and insincere charm. 

I only read a few pages each day, as the text is somewhat wordy in places. Sometimes I had to re-read a paragraph as my mind had wandered.  I don’t think it’s a book to read in just a couple of settings anyway as there’s so much in it. It’s important to process each section before moving on to the next.

There are many books on this topic, by a variety of authors, but they give different perspectives. Brennan Manning committed many sins over his life, which he freely acknowledges. Perhaps that's part of what gave him such a wonderful perception of God's unconditional love. 

I will continue to re-read a variety of books on this subject, and hope that gradually the message will get through. 

Definitely recommended.

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