Have We Experienced The Relentless Tenderness Of Jesus?

"As was stated in the opening chapter, the tragedy in the church today is that we have confused beliefs and faith, doctrines and lived experience. Contemplative prayer bridges the gap between belief and experience because it is the bridge of faith. It teaches us what theology alone could never convince us of—that God is love. It takes us on the longest and most dangerous journey of all, from the head to the heart wherein we taste and existentially experience the relentless tenderness of Jesus Christ. We come to know the compassion of Christ not as an abstraction but in the lived experience of his acceptance of us as sinners, as imperfect people caught up in a struggle in which we sometimes sell out ourselves or others."
(Brennan Manning. The Signature Of Jesus)