Devotions from Brennan Mannings book, The Rabbi’s Heartbeat

The words of Beatrice Beuteau, “God’s love is not conditional. We cannot do anything to deserve God’s love-for which reason it is called grace; and we need not do anything to provoke it. It is already there.  Any love that is going to be salvific must be this type, absolutely unconditional and free.”  Some people never seem to get beneath the surface of their lives and die before they learn to live.  They mistrust God, the world, and even themselves and are unable to make a passionate commitment to anyone or anything.  They miss tasting life deeply. Jesus came to reconcile us to Him.  We can’t receive what He has to offer unless we see our plight and need of Him.  He knows our deepest secrets and we don’t have to grab a cosmetic kit to make ourselves presentable before Him. His message to us is forgiveness, peace, and reconciliation.  If we open the door to Him we will find we are not alone. He is with us and also gives us fellow travelers along the way.  We can accept ourselves as we trust His acceptance of us as we are. He said, “Behold I make all things new.”  Today may we receive the wonder and beauty of ourselves as His child.