I love Brennan Manning's Ragamuffin Gospel. I offer a quote from his book without comment today. I hope it is as convicting and thought-provoking for you as it has been for me over the years.
"There is an
ancient Christian legend that goes this way:
'When the son of God was
nailed to the cross and gave up His Spirit, He went straight down to hell from
the cross and set free all the sinners who were there in torment. And the devil
wept and mourned for he thought he would get no more sinners for hell.
"Then God said to him, 'Do not weep, for I shall send you all those holy people who have become self-complacent in the consciousness of their goodness and self-righteous in their condemnation of sinners. And hell shall be filled up once more for generations until I come again.' "
How long will it be before we discover we cannot dazzle God with our accomplishments?
When will we acknowledge that we need not and cannot buy God's favor?
When will we acknowledge that we don't have it all together and happily accept the gift of grace? When will we grasp the thrilling truth of Paul: "[We know] that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ" (Galatians 2:16, NKJV).
"Then God said to him, 'Do not weep, for I shall send you all those holy people who have become self-complacent in the consciousness of their goodness and self-righteous in their condemnation of sinners. And hell shall be filled up once more for generations until I come again.' "
How long will it be before we discover we cannot dazzle God with our accomplishments?
When will we acknowledge that we need not and cannot buy God's favor?
When will we acknowledge that we don't have it all together and happily accept the gift of grace? When will we grasp the thrilling truth of Paul: "[We know] that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ" (Galatians 2:16, NKJV).
From “Counterfeit Grace” by Brennan Manning
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