Acknowledgements
Preface to the Augmented Edition
Introduction

1.
Don't hide, come out
2.
false self
3.
Beloved
4.
Abba's children
5.
The Pharisees and their children
6.
The present resurrection
7.
Restoration of passion
8.
Courage and Fantasy
9.
Rabbi's Heartbeat

Study Guides for Individuals and Groups
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About the Author

God loves and accepts us just as we are.
He desperately wants us to know that fact from the depths of our being.
That is the message of freedom that this book conveys.
God is our “Abba,” our loving Father, who knows me much better than I know myself!

On February 8, 1956, in a little chapel in Loretto, Pennsylvania, I was assailed by Jesus of Nazareth. … … The path I have walked for the past 38 years has been marked by bitter victories and glorious defeats, soul-crushing successes and life-enhancing failures.
Seasons of loyalty and betrayal, times of comfort and exhaustion, passion and numbness, passed through me.
And there were times like this.
There was a time when the feeling of God's presence was more real than the chair I was sitting on.
When the word of God struck every corner of my soul like a lightning bolt that split the heavens and the earth.
When an uncontrollable desire took me to places I had never seen before.

But there were also times like this.
There was a time when I sympathized with the saying, “I was once Snow White, but I lost my way.”
A time when God's word was as bland as melted ice cream and as tasteless as dried sausage.
When the spark in my heart flickered and went out.
A time when I mistook my cooling passion for the wisdom of age.
A time when the ideals of youth were dismissed as mere foolishness.
A time when cheap pieces of glass were preferred over precious pearls.
If any of these experiences apply to you, it may be helpful to take the time to rediscover your fundamental identity as a “child of Abba” through this book.

characteristic

- Brennan Manning's masterpiece in a new edit
- A steady seller loved for the past 10 years
- It allows us to recognize our existence as children of the beloved Abba.
- It allows us to look at others based on the love of a forgiving father.

For readers

- Those who long for God's forgiving love
- Brennan Manning, avid reader
- Pastors, seminarians, and missionary group workers who counsel believers