Messy Spirituality

I'm reading a book by Michael Yaconelli called Messy Spirituality right now. It was a random find at the Jeffco library, but a gem of a book.

"Spirituality is not a formula; it is not a test. It is a relationship. Spirituality is not about competency; it is about intimacy. Spirituality is not about perfection; it is about connection. The way of the spiritual life begins where we are NOW in the mess of our lives. Accepting the reality of our broken, flawed lives is the beginning of spirituality not because the spiritual life will remove our flaws but because we let go of seeking perfection and, instead, seek God, the one who is present in the tangledness of our lives. Spirituality is not about being fixedl it is about God being present in the mess of our unfixedness."

"Messy spirituality has the audacity to suggest that messiness is the workshop of authentic spirituality, the greenhouse of faith, the place where the real Jesus meets the real us."

"Messy Spirituality unveils the myth of flawlessness and calls Christians everywhere to come out of hiding and stop pretending."

"Messy spirituality is the scandalous assertion that following Christ is anything but neat and tidy, balanced and orderly. Far from it. Spirituality is complex, complicated, and perplexing-the disorderly, sloppy, chaotic look of authentic faith in the real world."

"Spirituality is anything but a straight line; it is a mixed-up, topsy-turvy, helter-skelter godliness that turns our lives into an upside-down toboggan ride full of unexpected turns, surprise bumps, and bone-shattering crashes. In other words, messy spirituality is the delirious consequence of a life ruined by a Jesus who will love us right into his arms."

"Jesus is not repelled by us, no matter how messy we are, regardless of how incomplete we are. When we recognize that Jesus is not discouraged by our humanity, is not turned off by our messiness, and simply doggedly pursues us in the face of it all, what else can we do but give in to his outrageous, indiscriminate love?


In the messiness of my own heart, God not only loves me but pursues me in the midst of the mess. Think about that? Jesus is attracted to the unattractive. He prefers the lost, the losers, the broken, the messy, the crippled.

There have been a lot of things this summer that have been hard. Jesus doesn't change the circumstances sometimes, but He sure loves us through them.

Here's to not having it together, being a mess, and loving and walking with Jesus all the way through it.