Bibliography
The Ragamuffin Gospel - Brennan Manning
This book ended up being my Lent reading unexpectedly. It was given to me by a very dear friend when I left New Jersey, and has been quietly sitting on my bookshelf ever since. Its basic message is that the Good News is one of abundant grace - and that we need reminding of this, because we are so often drawn into the mistake of thinking redemption happens through works rather than because of God's goodness. It's a very me-appropriate message - stop trying so damn hard, because your trying so damn hard won't actually make a difference; let God in to do the work of transformation, and live honestly.
I can see just why my friend found this such a powerful book, and I will be honest, I found it powerful too. The reminder that we are not justified through our own efforts, and thus that the urge to be perfect is not only misplaced but woefully missing the point, is an important one, and one that I need. The reminder that I am loved, simply by virtue of being, and that God's love is not conditional on me ticking any boxes, is one that I am a bit better at remembering but that still needs to be said. The bigness, the boldness, the wildness of God's grace is something that the human brain always needs to be reconfronted with. One of my vicars once used the image of a reverse set of Russian dolls - our conception of God breaks out of the littlest doll, but then needs to break out of the next littlest doll, and then out and out and out, but will never break out of the dolls entirely because God's love is too massive for the human brain to comprehend.
The tone of the book might not appeal to everyone - it's heavy on anecdote and home-spun wisdom, which can grate (and sometimes the examples are a bit... well, a bit). But I think this is worth having on the shelves, and I suspect I will come back to it when I need a reminder about the bigness of grace.
This book ended up being my Lent reading unexpectedly. It was given to me by a very dear friend when I left New Jersey, and has been quietly sitting on my bookshelf ever since. Its basic message is that the Good News is one of abundant grace - and that we need reminding of this, because we are so often drawn into the mistake of thinking redemption happens through works rather than because of God's goodness. It's a very me-appropriate message - stop trying so damn hard, because your trying so damn hard won't actually make a difference; let God in to do the work of transformation, and live honestly.
I can see just why my friend found this such a powerful book, and I will be honest, I found it powerful too. The reminder that we are not justified through our own efforts, and thus that the urge to be perfect is not only misplaced but woefully missing the point, is an important one, and one that I need. The reminder that I am loved, simply by virtue of being, and that God's love is not conditional on me ticking any boxes, is one that I am a bit better at remembering but that still needs to be said. The bigness, the boldness, the wildness of God's grace is something that the human brain always needs to be reconfronted with. One of my vicars once used the image of a reverse set of Russian dolls - our conception of God breaks out of the littlest doll, but then needs to break out of the next littlest doll, and then out and out and out, but will never break out of the dolls entirely because God's love is too massive for the human brain to comprehend.
The tone of the book might not appeal to everyone - it's heavy on anecdote and home-spun wisdom, which can grate (and sometimes the examples are a bit... well, a bit). But I think this is worth having on the shelves, and I suspect I will come back to it when I need a reminder about the bigness of grace.