God's longing

I picked up Brennan Manning's "The Furious Longing of God" yesterday when I was out running around at lunch. Several thoughts have invaded my mind just on the little bit that I have read so far. I love the title of the book. God doesn't just tolerate me, He isn't indifferent, He doesn't just accept me, He intensely longs for me. Even as I question whether the first 3 descriptions best describe some of my current friendships, I am overwhelmed by the thought of how much God desires to be with me. He not only loves me, but he likes me. I have often heard people say that they love someone even if they don't like them (which I don't know how you really do that, but that is a thought for another post), but God furiously (love that image) seeks me out because of His love and because he genuinely wants to be with me.

Another thought that struck me today as I was reading the following quote "Abba, I belong to you" was how God loves even the five minutes I spend with Him some days. I know some people who would fit the definition of a Super Christian. They wake up early and have amazing devotions with God, spend lots of time in prayer, serve selflessly, etc. (Which is awesome, but rarely, if ever, is that how I would describe myself) Most days I feel I am about as far from that as possible. But it struck me today that God longs for even those few minutes I manage some days. I was thinking about how my boys are full of energy and have very active schedules, but there are those moments when I have 5 minutes alone with one of them in the car where I get to talk to them about their day or when Jacob will sometimes slow down long enough to still snuggle up in my lap. I love those moments of being with my boys. Just to be with them. I think that is how God is too. He just wants to be with us. He longs for us even in our hectic, overly busy lives. I don't have to act a certain way nor do I even deserve it, but He calls me his son and I belong to Him. What an amazing concept!