In my own personal ministry I try to be a good role model as a believer in the Lord and sister of Jesus Christ. After reading “The Ragamuffin Gospel” by Brennan Manning, I feel both challenged and called to embrace more of a balance between my true ragamuffin self and my knowledge and efforts to do good for the name of the Lord.
We know that sin is wrong and that we should obey the Ten Commandments. However, I wonder if this knowledge becomes more of a game, in which we as players are so caught up in the rules that we lose sight of the whole point. We focus on our discipline, and become obsessed with what we are doing, rather than focusing on what God is doing through us. The problem with this picture is the inevitable burnout and relapse back to our old ways. In an all or nothing mindset that is so characteristic of our culture, our quest to serve the Lord fades and we are back at square one.
In my humble opinion, there is a grave misconception among nonbelievers and even among those who are distant in their walk with the Lord. There is a false impression of what it is to be a Christian. I believe that there are those who are preoccupied with a legalistic perspective of Christianity, distracted by devout, rigid Christians who seem to be on a level in their faith that is perhaps unachievable.
In reality, we are all at different points in our spiritual walk with the Lord--some hot, some cold, some lukewarm. Some are so close that they can feel the presence of the Holy Spirit living within. Some are so distant and bitter that they have given up on Christianity; they’ve come to a screeching halt in their journey with Jesus. Wherever we are, right now, right in this moment, we ought to pause and reflect that we are all the same. We are all merely ragamuffins loved by the Lord.
There are many occasions in the Bible when we see Jesus spending time with the ragamuffins-- the sick, the poor, the captives, the sinners. While we can slap a label on these individuals and define them by their sins, the truth is that we are all ragamuffins, raggedy sinners in need of God’s love and grace. For “It is by Grace you have been saved through faith, not by anything of your own, but by a gift from God” (Ephesians 2:8).
“We acknowledge that what makes men righteous is not obedience to the Laws but faith in Jesus Christ” (Galatians 2:16). Manning strips us bare and calls us out as he eloquently declares that “Imposters in the Spirit always prefer appearances to reality. Rationalization begins with a look in the mirror. We don’t like the sight of ourselves as we really are, so we try cosmetics, make-up, the right light, and the proper accessories to develop an acceptable image of ourselves. We rely on the stylish disguise that has made us look good or at least look away from our true self. Self-deception mortgages our sinfulness and prevents us from seeing ourselves as we really are- ragamuffins.”
Hanging up our defenses, we might consider the lessons we can learn through the raw emotions and brutal honesty of a child. To illustrate this point, Manning writes “I am reminded of the night little John Dyer, three years old, knocked on our front door flanked by his parents. I looked down and said, ‘Hi, John. I am delighted to see you.’ He looked neither to the right nor left. His face was set like flint. He narrowed his eyes with the apocalyptic glint of an aimed gun. ‘Where’s the cookies?’ he demanded.”
“The Kingdom belongs to people who aren’t trying to look good or impress anybody, even themselves. They are not plotting how they can call attention to themselves, worrying about how their actions will be interpreted or wondering if they will get gold stars for their behavior. Twenty centuries later, Jesus speaks pointedly to the preening ascetic trapped in the fatal narcissism of spiritual perfectionism, to those of us caught up in boasting about our victories in the vineyard, to those of us fretting and flapping about our human weaknesses and character defects. The child doesn’t have to struggle to get himself in a good position for having a relationship with God; he doesn’t have to craft ingenious ways of explaining his position to Jesus; he doesn’t have to create a pretty face for himself; he doesn’t have to achieve any state of spiritual feeling or intellectual understanding. All he has to do is happily accept the cookies: the gift of the Kingdom.”
Indeed we should strive to be as open minded as a child. While there’s a lot to be said for our spiritual upbringing, we shouldn't be so rigid in our tradition for the sole reason that it is all we know. We must step out of this religious comfort zone to experience the joy and love that we might glean from fellow Christians, regardless of our differences in denominational details.
I feel truly blessed, truly grateful to know that God loves me for who I am and works with me despite my limitations. As Manning puts it “Our huffing and puffing to impress God, our scrambling for brownie points, our thrashing about trying to fix ourselves while hiding our pettiness and wallowing in guilt are necessary to God and are a flat denial of the gospel of grace.” It is that grace that we are given that sets us free from self deception. It is by grace that we can be ourselves, be open, honest, and real. “For grace proclaims the awesome truth that all is a gift. All that is good is ours not by right but by the sheer bounty of a gracious God.” The truth of the matter is that the Lord loves us, and His grace is an expression of this love. So in ministering to each other we ought to do so in love, actions, and honesty. As described by Morton Kelsy, “The church is not a museum for saints but a hospital for sinners.”
I’d like to leave you with a few concluding thoughts from the book that spoke to my heart. As fellow ragamuffins, I pray that we continue to let the Lord work through us, relying on his grace, love, and mercy, as we serve Him with a joyous heart.
“We fluctuate from castigating ourselves and congratulating ourselves because we are deluded into thinking we save ourselves. We develop a false sense of security from our good works and scrupulous observance of the law. Our halo gets too tight and a carefully-disguised attitude of moral superiority results. Or, we are appalled by our inconsistency, devastated that we haven’t lived up to our lofty expectations of ourselves. The roller coaster ride of elation and depression continues.”“Grace tells us that we are accepted just as we are. We may not be the kind of people we want to be, we may be a long way from our goals, we may have more failures than achievements, we may not be wealthy or powerful or spiritual, we may not even be happy, but we are nonetheless accepted by God, held in his hands. Such is his promise to us in Jesus Christ, a promise we can trust.”“We all have shadows and skeletons in our backgrounds. But listen, there is something bigger in this world than we are and that something bigger is full of grace and mercy, patience and ingenuity. The moment the focus of your life shifts from your badness to his goodness and the question becomes not ‘What have I done?’ but ‘What can he do?’ release from remorse can happen; miracle of miracles, you can forgive yourself because you are accepted, and begin to start building up the very places you once tore down. There is grace to help in every time of trouble. That grace is the secret to being able to forgive ourselves. Trust it.”
