Beloved: A Study through the Writings of Brennan Manning

 

Session 1: The Grace That Finds You in the Ruins

Based on The Ragamuffin Gospel and Luke 7:36–50

---

I. The Scandal of Grace

Grace has never followed the rules.
It crosses thresholds uninvited, kneels beside shame, and calls the unworthy beloved.

When Jesus entered Simon’s house that evening (Luke 7:36–50), no one expected holiness to smell like perfume or mingle with tears.
A woman, known only for her sin, broke open a jar of costly ointment and poured it over His feet.
She said nothing. Her repentance was not a speech; it was surrender.

Simon, the host, saw only her reputation.
Jesus saw her reverence.

“Her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much.” (Luke 7:47)

Manning wrote,

“Grace is sufficient even though we huff and puff with all our might to try to find something or someone it cannot cover.”

Grace found her in the ruins and called her whole.

---

II. The Theology of the Ragamuffin

“The gospel is not for the super-spiritual. It is not for the muscular Christians who have made it.
It is for the wobbly and the weak-kneed who know they don’t have it all together.” — Brennan Manning

Jesus said,

“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17)

Grace is not a reward for the repentant; it is the reason repentance is possible.
It is not a transaction. It is an embrace.

Manning wrote,

“To live by grace means to acknowledge my whole life story, the light side and the dark.
In admitting my shadow side I learn who I am and what God’s grace means.”

To be poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3) is to stand before God without pretense.
To be found by grace is to discover that love was never withheld, only unseen.

---

III. The Posture of Receiving

In the logic of the world, strength is earned and worth is proven.
But in the language of grace, poverty is the prerequisite for abundance.
“It is only the empty vessel that can be filled.” (Psalm 34:18)

Jesus did not ask the woman to justify her past.
He let her tears become the proof of her faith (Luke 7:38).
She had nothing left to present except gratitude, and that was enough.

“God’s love for you is so unconditional, so total, that He will accept you as you are.
But when you really believe that, you’ll let Him change you into what He wants you to be.” — Manning

Grace waits at the edge of self-sufficiency,
where all masks have fallen and only honesty remains.
That is where the Gospel begins.

---

IV. The Grace That Pursues

“God loves you unconditionally, as you are, not as you should be, because nobody is as they should be.” — Manning

This is not permission to remain unchanged.
It is the freedom to come near while still unfinished.

“While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

Grace does not excuse the ruins. It rebuilds them from within.
It finds the places we would rather hide and plants mercy there like a seed.
Over time, that mercy becomes new structure, new story, new song.

“When you are convinced that God loves you, you do not have to be afraid of anything.
You can live your life with an open heart.” — Manning

Grace pursues not to expose, but to restore.
It is love walking into every locked room and turning on the light (John 20:19–22).

---

V. The Invitation

Grace is not earned. It is received (Ephesians 2:8–9).
It cannot be managed or measured, only welcomed.
The woman left Simon’s house lighter than she entered,
forgiveness flowing where fear once lived.

“The deepest awareness of ourselves is that we are deeply loved by Jesus Christ
and have done nothing to earn or deserve it.” — Manning

That is the essence of grace:
to stop striving for worth and start resting in love.
To let go of what we think disqualifies us and discover that grace has already qualified us.

---

Reflection Practice — Living Grace This Week

1. Name one place where you still strive to prove your worth.
   Write it down. Each time that urge surfaces, pause and say,
   “I am loved here too.”

2. Practice receiving instead of performing.
   When someone compliments you or offers help, resist deflecting.
   Simply say, “Thank you.” Allow yourself to be loved without earning it.

3. Extend grace to one person who frustrates you.
   Send encouragement, offer patience, or pray for them by name.
   Grace grows strongest when it flows outward.

4. Create a daily moment of stillness.
   Sit quietly for two minutes. Breathe in the words of Psalm 46:10:
   “Be still, and know that I am God.”
   Let that stillness remind you that you are held, not hired.

5. End the day in gratitude.
   Before bed, recall one undeserved gift you noticed today.
   Whisper, “Thank You, Lord, for finding me even here.”