Manning Monday

I'm going to take a brief break from The Importance of Being Foolish. My introduction to Brennan Manning, like millions of others, came via dcTalk's song "What If I Stumble?" Manning is heard just before the song on the Jesus Freak album saying:

“The single greatest cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable”

I think it's a fitting quote to come right before a song about falling from grace - and how we handle it. It's really saying the complete opposite of the song, I think. The song asks, "Will the love continue if my walk becomes a crawl...what if I stumble and what if I fall." And Manning says that it is our stumbling and falling that drive people away from Christ.

Almost...

See, there's a word that Manning uses that is key here. It's lifestyle - deny Him with our lives - and I think that includes how we treat those who stumble and those who fall, doesn't it?

It's not just the unbelieving world that finds people who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and deny Him with their lifestyle unbelievable. I think the believing world finds it unbelievable, too...