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photo by angela ashton, angelaashton@adventures.org

I am not yet there.

Each day, I wake up and try to gather up the words and thoughts and actions that wound, and corral them into a secure and arid place where they go to die.

People come and go and my resolve weakens and the F-bomb scampers out of the vault.

Or my heart hardens as I read one more story about one more selfish and short-sighted person extracting life from another and replacing it with despair.

Or…

There are just too many examples to choose from.

Years ago…months ago, I thought I was quite the professional catch…personally, too.

Now, I know – "Not so much."

There is freedom in this place; of standing before the throng and declaring "I'm messy and I'm okay with that."

Messy – not – wallowing in the mud.

Fortunately, I've discovered fellow sojourners along the way. People here, at Adventures, in movies (remember "The Apostle?"), guys in the Bible (Helooooo Peter & David), people I admire and respect; authors…poets.

Recently, I cracked the spine of my vintage copy of "The Ragamuffin Gospel" written by Brennan Manning. My edition includes a forward by Rich Mullins who wrote about hearing Manning (on a cassette tape) while driving between Manhattan, Kansas, and the lesser Flint Hills. Home.

And, this Ragamuffin Gospel includes the very best non-Foward to a book I've ever read (and as a nerd, I've read many.)

It welcomes. Invites. Beckons the world weary and funk dogs to eat at the table of grace.

Below are some excerpts from "A Word Before," the non-Forward to Manning's, The Ragamuffin Gospel:

The Ragamuffin Gospel was written with a specific reading audience in mind.

This book is not for the super-spiritual…

It is not for noisy, feel-good folks who manipulate Christianity into a naked appeal to emotion…

It is not for Alleluia Christians who live only on the mountaintop and have never visited the valley of desolation.

It is not for the fearless and tearless…

If anyone is still reading along, The Ragamuffin Gospel was written for the bedraggled, beat-up, and burnt-out…

It is for the wobbly and weak-kneed who know they don't have it altogether and are too proud to accept the handout of amazing grace.

It is for the inconsistent, unsteady disciples whose cheese is falling off their cracker.

That last line slays me every time.

And frankly, I can't get past this non-Forward.

If that were not enough, this line comes running up and finishes me off:

It is for smart people who know they are stupid and honest disciples who admit they are scalawags.

So, from one scalawag whose cheese is falling of my cracker…come to the table. Eat. Drink. Rest.

There is always room for you here, too. Right next to me in the slacker aisle.

God hangs out here, too. He seems to have a thing for us, slackers.

The God of the Bible is a heck of a lot nicer than his kids and the folks who try to follow him. Especially those of us who try to hide the messes we make and the messes we are; who – when covered with the sludge of the pig pen – asks "who stinks?"

God called the deflecting, defecting, infected, and bitter…bittersweet. He called us all to himself.

There is room at his table for you.

Cheese and crackers enough to share (and that's only the first course).

Don't let anyone tell you different.

Let NeedtoBreathe breathe a little life into your good day, Lay 'Em Down.

Photo by Angela Aston, Adventurer at Adventures in Missions, [email protected]. Used with permission.

4 responses to “One love & the ragamuffin gospel”

  1. Allie, my dear! There is always room on slacker’s row! And as for the cheese, just follow the 8 second rule. Sharing is Caring! See you on the flip side:)

  2. All of which makes you quite a catch indeed.

    Messy people are a lot safer than the perfect ones we used to hang around.

  3. Big smile on my face, great post.

    Have you cracked the spine on “all is grace”?

    I am still so religious, does that qualify me to be a scalawag?