Irrational Love

I must confess that I’m not the world’s greatest quiet timer. For as long as I can remember, I’ve heard about the importance of a daily quiet time and I believe that it’s true. Yet still, I struggle. I pray throughout the day everyday—and especially at night as I’m winding down to sleep. I listen for God in silence. I pay attention to where God is especially present in the people, places, and events around me—particularly the music and stories that I hear. Being in tune with and living out the characteristics of the Divine is the single most important purpose of my life. Yet. I’m not the world’s greatest quiet timer, even though I am currently in a season during which I’m reading a devotional book each night.

Last night, as I was reading the October 31st entry from Reflections for Ragamuffins by Brennan Manning, I found myself hearing the exact message I needed to hear. Here’s what it said:

You cannot apply human logic or justice to Yahweh. Human logic is based on human experience and human nature. Yahweh does not conform to this kind of order. If Israel is unfaithful, God remains faithful. This Being of Revelation remains faithful against all logic and all limits of justice because He Is and is unchanging. It is only this note of love that clarifies the happy irrationality of God’s conduct and his persistence. Love tends to be a bit irrational. It pursues despite infidelity; it blossoms into envy, jealousy, anger—frantic anger, which betrays keep interest. The notion of love not only gives a fuller notion of divine nature, but by blossoming into other notions of passion, wrath, and eagerness, it widens our notion of God. The more complex and emotional the image of God becomes in the Bible, the bigger he grows and, paradoxically, the more we approach the mystery of his indefinability.

Psalm 53:2 says, “God looks down from heaven on the sons (and daughters) of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.”

I hope that when God looks at me God sees someone who seeks to understand the Divine—who seeks to understand the depth of God’s faithfulness, patience, persistence, forgiveness, unchanging grace, and steady love…because sometimes I want to give up…sometimes I want to throw in the towel and give up on humanity…but then I think of the irrationality of God’s love, take a deep, life-giving breath, and go forward in the paradox and mystery that is Love…that is for us ragamuffins of faith.