The Ragamuffin's Dress Code

RAGAMUFFIN (def.) – a dirty, shabbily-clothed child; an urchin.
(According to Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable) – A muffin is a poor thing of a creature, a ‘regular muffin’; so that a ragamuffin is a sorry creature in rags.

I am a ragamuffin. A spiritual ragamuffin. A spiritually dirty, shabbily-clothed child; an urchin. And I suspect that you may be too. In my own righteousness, this appears to be my regular dress code. A blogger, Carlos Whittaker, puts it this way: “This whole ragamuffin thing is simple. I’m just a screwed up man, in need of adoption, trying to be real. Real with myself, others and God.” But try as we may to be different, we’re still nothing but regular ragamuffins. Sorry creatures in rags.
But of course! Speaking of rags…it actually makes perfect sense! Isaiah wrote, “For we have all become like one who is unclean [ceremonially, like a leper], and all our righteousness (our best deeds of rightness and justice) is like filthy rags or a polluted garment.” 1

You see, according to the Bible, the ragamuffin is incapable of a decent dress code. Brennan Manning once said that for a ragamuffin to try improve his/her dress code is as arrogant as the young apprentice plumber standing beside the majestic, overwhelming, cascading waters of the Niagra falls, and declaring, “I can fix that!”
Nope! If you haven’t discovered it for yourself yet, let me assure you it’s a futile exercise. Can’t be done. Never has been, nor will it ever be done. Some of us are just a little better at pretending, but deep down inside of us we remain rotten to the core – ragamuffins of note!

So can this ragamuffin ever be at peace with God, self and others? If my best efforts are like grease stained rags in God’s sight, what hope do I have? Can God ever, looking through my most clever masks, seeing my lust, my lies, my insecurities and fears and all the deceit within, see me as anything but a ragamuffin?

It’s at this point of hopelessness that the grace of God, shown through Jesus Christ, comes into play. One of the most important aspects of grace is the concept of an exchange. The display of grace by God involves a change in my dress code. No, it doesn’t mean that I now lay down my dirty rags and don garments of beauty. It means that God, incarnate in Jesus Christ, comes down from heaven to where I am, He takes off my dirty rags, and He takes off His garments of beauty and perfection and He drapes them over me.

“He has sent me to provide for all those who grieve in Zion, to give them crowns instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of tears of grief, and clothes of praise instead of a spirit of weakness. They will be called Oaks of Righteousness, the Plantings of the LORD, so that he might display his glory.” 2

Eugene Petersen, paraphrasing Paul, elaborates on how this exchange is made possible; “I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not "mine," but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” 3

Does the exchange mean that the ragamuffin in me now instantly becomes a perfected creature of holiness? Does it mean that the inherent ugliness of the ragamuffin now magically gives way to godliness and utter devotion? No, it doesn’t. But, because of my new clothes, God now looks at me, and sees a perfected creature of holiness. He looks at me and sees the clothes of Jesus, and “assumes” He’s looking at Jesus, and therefore treats me as He would treat Jesus.

Now this act of grace is an inspiration to the ragamuffin. An inspiration to deal with all the issues of lust and lies and deceit and arrogance and fear and hypocrisies. I’m inspired because of this incredible act of generosity. Suddenly the kindness of God inspires me to want to face my demons.

Or are you [so blind as to] trifle with and presume upon and despise and underestimate the wealth of His kindness and forbearance and long-suffering patience? Are you unmindful or actually ignorant [of the fact] that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repent (to change your mind and inner man to accept God's will)? 4

And I’m reminded that whilst I was still a ragamuffin, Christ died for me to give me a change of garments. 5

Some ragamuffins in religious garb disguise out there will accuse me of making grace cheap by contending for this truth. My simple response is that they don’t have even the remotest understanding of the power of grace. It is the grace and kindness of God alone that gives us the power to change.

The New Testament is abundantly clear that it isn’t rules, or a no-nonsense approach from God that changes the ragamuffin within. Self-help is rather futile when it comes to a ragamuffin trying to improve his/her sense of dress. There is only one source of true change, and it is the unconditional grace of God.

So, to all you self-acknowledged ragamuffins out there, it’s time to change the way you think about your clothing. It’s difficult for a ragamuffin to seem himself/herself dressed in anything but dirty rags, because they reflect the person within. This is where faith is required. Because I have to make a choice to believe what God has said about me. It’s time to step out of those hand-me-downs of guilt, fear, insecurity and condemnation. Step into the finest of heaven’s boutiques. And let God, the master fashion designer, fit you with clothes that are worthy for kings. Start seeing yourself clothed in righteousness. 6

A ragamuffin somewhere will protest, “But I don’t feel righteous!” You don’t get it. Your opinion of yourself, and someone else’s opinion of you counts for nothing. There is only one opinion that counts, and that is God’s opinion. God says that you are clothed in garments of royalty and righteousness – not because you deserved them, but because Jesus bought them for you on a cross.

Hey, you! Yes, you! You look soooo cool in those threads!


1. Isaiah 64:6
2. Isaiah 61:3
3. Galatians 2:20
4. Romans 2:4
5. Romans 5:8
6. Ephesians 4:22-24