The North American Church Is At A

A Ragamuffin Knows He's Only A Beggar At The Door Of God's Mercy.

None Of Us Has Ever Seen A Motive. Therefore, We Don't Know We Can't Do Anything More Than Suspect What Inspires The Action Of Another. For This Good And Valid Reason, We're Told Not To Judge. Tragedy Is That Our Attention Centers On What People Are Not, Rather Than On What They Are And Who They Might Become.

When I Get Honest, I Admit I Am A Bundle Of Paradoxes. I Believe And I Doubt, I Hope And Get Discouraged, I Love And I Hate, I Feel Bad About Feeling Good, I Feel Guilty About Not Feeling Guilty. I Am Trusting And Suspicious. I Am Honest And I Still Play Games. Aristotle Said I Am A Rational Animal; I Say I Am An Angel With An Incredible Capacity For Beer.

For Those Who Feel Their Lives Are A Grave Disappointment To God, It Requires Enormous Trust And Reckless, Raging Confidence To Accept That The Love Of Jesus Christ Knows No Shadow Of Alteration Or Change. When Jesus Said, "come To Me, All You Who Labor And Are Heavy Burdened," He Assumed We Would Grow Weary, Discouraged, And Disheartened Along The Way. These Words Are A Touching Testimony To The Genuine Humanness Of Jesus. He Had No Romantic Notion Of The Cost Of Discipleship. He Knew That Following Him Was As Unsentimental As Duty, As Demanding As Love.

For Ragamuffins, God's Name Is Mercy. We See Our Darkness As A Prized Possession Because It Drives Us Into The Heart Of God. Without Mercy Our Darkness Would Plunge Us Into Despair - For Some, Self-destruction. Time Alone With God Reveals The Unfathomable Depths Of The Poverty Of The Spirit. We Are So Poor That Even Our Poverty Is Not Our Own: It Belongs To The Mysterium Tremendum Of A Loving God.