The Crucible of Tenderness
Pain is the crucible in which one is made tender.
God is not surrounded in love! Love is the essence, the construction of His being. Love is His fibre, and tender are His hands.
Love rises from Him, radiates indiscriminately into both the aware and the unaware. All recipients are ineligible for His love, fortunately eligibility is no criteria for its reception. It is in fact His essence - without it, God is not god!
A God whose construction is love surely sees all frailties, failings and fears. He knows our losses, knows our brokenness and walks beside us in our despairs. He speaks softly. He holds our hands with tenacity.
The deprivation of human affirmation, the absence or finitude of warm human response sears across the soul and spirit. Yet such sufferings aren’t impediments to being seized by the power of a great affection. This is what the brutal Cross of Jesus intends for us.
Jesus took our purifying crucible to apprehend us. Honor all of Him in your heart and your feet will gently move towards others.
... and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. (Matthew 7:2b)
#Inspired by and quotes from Brennan Manning, 'The Wisdom of Tenderness', HarperSanFrancisco 2004
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