The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning

A Furious Love Is Hot on Your Trail! Many believers feel stunted in their Christian growth. We beat ourselves up over our failures and, in the process, pull away from God because we subconsciously believe He tallies our defects and hangs His head in disappointment. In this newly repackaged edition—now with full appendix, study questions, and the author’s own epilogue, “Ragamuffin Ten Years Later,” Brennan Manning reminds us that nothing could be further from the truth. The Father beckons us to Himself with a “furious love” that burns brightly and constantly. Only when we truly embrace God’s grace can we bask in the joy of a gospel that enfolds the most needy of His flock—the “ragamuffins.”

Are you bedraggled, beat-up, burnt-out?

Most of us believe in God’s grace—in theory. But somehow we can’t seem to apply it in our daily lives. We continue to see Him as a small-minded bookkeeper, tallying our failures and successes on a score sheet.

Yet God gives us His grace, willingly, no matter what we’ve done. We come to Him as ragamuffins—dirty, bedraggled, and beat-up. And when we sit at His feet, He smiles upon us, the chosen objects of His “furious love.”

Brennan Manning’s now-classic meditation on grace and what it takes to access it—simple honesty—has changed thousands of lives. Now with a Ragamuffin’s thirty-day spiritual journey guide, it will change yours, too.

Includes a 30-Day Spiritual Journey Guide!

My review:
   I can't believe this book has been around since 1990, and I just got around to reading it. Its something I needed to read for a long time, but maybe the time was right for it to do the most good now.

  If you're like me, and have always struggled to fully believe God loves you, if you have had trouble truly grasping the idea of grace, and that it is for you.... you need to read this book. There were so many "wow" moments for me in this book. Manning really opens up the reality of God's love and does a great job of shooting down the doubts we can have about it.

  I do wish I had read this book earlier in my life, before my doubts had become so grounded, but it has given me new hope and a fresh look at God's love and grace like I have never experienced.

  A verse Manning came back to a few times, was Luke 15:20, in the story of the prodigal son: “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him." He made the point that before the son had even asked forgiveness, before he even had the chance to say anything, the father had run to him, embraced him, and welcomed him home..... that put a whole new light on that story, and how eager God is to welcome us back. I can't say enough good about this book. There may be a few things I wouldn't agree with 100%, but this is one of those books that can be life-changing, and has far more that I agree with, than not.

About the author:

Richard Francis Xavier Manning, known as Brennan Manning (April 27, 1934 – April 12, 2013)was an American author, friar, priest, contemplative and speaker. Born and raised in Depression-era New York City, Manning finished high school, enlisted in the US Marine Corps, and fought in the Korean War. After returning to the United States, he enrolled at Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania. Upon his graduation from the seminary in 1963, Manning was ordained a Franciscan priest.[2]

In the late 1960s, Manning joined the Little Brothers of Jesus of Charles de Foucauld, a religious institute committed to an uncloistered, contemplative life among the poor. Manning transported water via donkey, worked as a mason's assistant and a dishwasher in France, was imprisoned (by choice) in Switzerland, and spent six months in a remote cave somewhere in the Zaragoza desert. In the 1970s, Manning returned to the United States and began writing after confronting his alcoholism.

The Ragamuffin Gospel is available from Waterbrook/Multnomah Publishing.

I received an e-book of the book for review, but bought a paperback copy of my own.