Messy Spirituality, Mike Yaconelli Tell Us About ...

Messy Spirituality, Mike Yaconelli tell us about a boy

walking by a pet store, on his way to school, a young boy stopped and stared through the window. Inside were four black puppies playing together. After school he ran home and pleaded with his mother to let him have one of the puppies. “Il take care of it” you know the story.

Finally the mother relents and gives him the ok to buy a puppy.

After determining the boy had enough money the pet owner took the boy over to the window to pick out his puppy. After watching the puppies the boy said ‘Uh, Ill take that one.’

Oh no, said the pet owner you don’t want that one, he’s crippled. Notice how he just sits there; something is wrong with one of his legs, so he can’t run and play like the rest of the puppies. Choose another one.

Without saying a word, the boy reached down, lifted his pant leg to expose a chrome leg brace to the owner. ‘No’ he said firmly, ‘I think I’ll take the puppy in the corner.

It turned out that what disqualifies the puppy from being chosen by others is what most qualified him to be chosen by the little boy.

Think about this for a moment. Its amazing how few of us believe in the unqualified grace of God. Oh, yes God loves us, as long as we are clean, and whole and fixed. But it turns out what disqualifies you and me from ‘spirituality’ the mess of our lives and our crippledness- is what most qualifies us to be chosen by Jesus. Welcome to the land of the misfits.

Again I remind you that God wants to meet you right where you are, right now, today.