Come as you are…

“Come as you are”

Its a phrase that those of us raised in the church are so familiar with. But I think often, especially for those of us that never went thru one of those rebellious stages.we don’t really understand.

The phrase come as you are doesn’t come directly from the Word. But there is no doubt that the concept is definitely there.

Matthew 11:28 – Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest

Isaiah 55:1 – Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

The problem is that so often we have this idea in our heads that we are supposed to clean ourselves up before we come to the Lord. That G_d will accept us unconditionally on the condition, that we clean up that one mess in our lives.

Or perhaps we have a feeling of guilt. That since we don’t deserve the Grace that G_d has given us that we should somehow ‘earn’ it even if its not fully. Show Him somehow that we are worth His Grace.

[instead of confessing] we would much rather clean things up first and eliminate the remnants of grossness, insecurity or emotional unrest.- Andy Stanley

‘come as you are’

With all your dirt and grim. All of your baggage. All your rough edges and unfinished corners. All of your unfinished work. All of your needed improvement or downright unacceptable behavior.

Christ died not for the polished up version of you. If there even was a polished up version of you then He wouldn’t have needed to die for you.

But coming to G_d is more then just showing up at church. It’s being real. Telling G_d where you are at. Admiting your struggles and your sins not only to Him but to His people.

Coming as you are doesn’t mean just showing up every Sunday or praying every now and then, but being real. Telling G_d and His people where you are at.

With confession toward G_d comes healing. With confession toward His people comes healing (James 5:16).

So… are you being real? Are you coming as you are? Or are you trying to present yourself to the world as a polished dirty piece of coal?