Come As You Are

Come as you are, is a simple concept. It simply says the Lord will meet you where you are. You do not need to clean yourself up first to come to Jesus. Sadly, this concept isn’t always accepted by the saints. There are some saints that whisper when Susie shows up on Easter Sunday for the first time that year, when Ned the Wino shows up at church in his Sunday’s best smelling like liquor, or when young Ray-Ray finally comes to church, but he reeks of weed, and we can’t forget Ashley, who decided for some reason that this Sunday she would show up to church after her job as a dancer. “Come as you are” isn’t a slogan about what you can or can’t wear at church, instead it is an  invitation to show up even during your struggle and Jesus will accept you. You do not have to clean yourself up first. Jesus is a master cleaner.
 
Jesus met the Samaritan woman where she was at Jacob’s Well drawing water (John 4:1-42). She was not a woman of importance, but she did have the ear of men. Jesus, a Jew, did not care that she was a Samaritan woman or a woman that knew many men. Actually, the fact that she did know many men created the opportunity for many to be saved (John 4:39).
 
Zacchaeus, a rich man, heard that Jesus was coming through his town. He desired to see Jesus but there was already a crowd, and Zacchaeus was a short man. Zacchaeus ran ahead and climbed a tree so that he could see Jesus. When Jesus was passing under that Sycamore tree he saw Zacchaeus. Jesus didn’t wait for Zacchaeus to come down; instead, he called him by his name down from his hiding place (Luke 19:1-5). Jesus met Zacchaeus where he was and invited Himself to his home and then informed him that Salvation had come to his house and finished by saying that the Son of Man has come to seek and save that which is lost. Zacchaeus didn’t need to stop what he was doing or how he was living to have an experience with Christ because Christ met him where he was as he was.
 
At the pool in Jerusalem called Bethesda, sick people came to get healed (John 5:1-4), There a man suffering with an infirmity for 38 years waited to enter the pool. Jesus didn’t question why he had not gotten into the pool. Instead, He asked, “Do you want to be made well?” The man explained that he didn’t have anyone to help him get into the pool and moreover when he tried someone always beat him there (John 5:5-7). Jesus then said to the man, “Rise, take up your bed and walk” (John 5:8). Jesus met him right where He was. Amid his struggles Jesus saw him and healed him.
 
PRAYER: Dear Lord, thank You for meeting us where we are. Thank You for loving us so much that You became sin for us, that You became our sacrificial lamb. Thank You for knowing in Your infinite wisdom that we cannot clean ourselves even if we tried, so You did it for us. Lord, we honor You and praise You for Your sacrifice. If we had 10,000 tongues, we could never express the magnitude of thanks for this act. Forgive us for taking You and Your sacrifice for granted. It is because You met us where we were and gave us living water, invited Salvation into our homes, and healed us when we couldn’t heal ourselves that we are made clean. Thank You for such awesome love. In the name of Jesus, the Christ I pray, Amen.
By Sis. Patricia Towns