I’ve been reading The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning. I’m not finished with it yet, but so far it has been a great read. It’s really made me think, and I think Manning has a really excellent view on the gospel.
One part was so excellent, especially in light of lent, that I just have to share it. I’ve been reading and hearing some discussion lately about lent, and how its only purpose is to keep people in line. To keep us all feeling guilty. It’s a punishment, and it’s something that doesn’t last. Now I do agree that just giving up chocolate for a few weeks does not capture the full spirit of lent. But I’ve been so discouraged to hear this kind of talk about the season. I completely disagree. Lent is about walking the walk with Jesus. It’s about realizing why we need a savior. It’s about preparing ourselves for Easter. It’s about pushing the less important things in life aside and making room for the love and forgiveness God has for us. These things I’ve believed for years now, but Manning’s writing helps me to have an even better perspective on lent:
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“One thing we do know: We don’t comprehend the love of Jesus Christ. Oh, we see a movie and resonate to what a young man and woman will endure for romantic love. We know that when the chips are down, if we love wildly enough we’ll fling life and caution to the winds for the one we love. But when it comes to God’s love in the broken, blood-drenched body of Jesus Christ, we get antsy and start to talk about theology, divine justice, God’s wrath, and the heresy of universalism.
The saved sinner is prostrate in adoration, lost in wonder and praise. He knows repentance is not what we do in order to earn forgiveness; it is what we do because we have been forgiven. It serves as an expression of gratitude rather than an effort to earn forgiveness. Thus the sequence of forgiveness and then repentance, rather than repentance and then forgiveness, is crucial for understanding the gospel of grace.”
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It’s not that we don’t need to be sorry or guilty sometimes. I’m not saying lent should be all butterflies and roses. But it is humbling to remember that no form of repentance, no matter how devout or sincere could possible compare to the loving power of God. How can we be so arrogant to think that our meager works could possibly influence His love? That he would forgive us because of something we did is misguided, I think. We are forgiven first. Repentance, and thanksgiving comes later. They turn us back to God.