This Is Grace....

An article written by Tom Gilbert — June 2005, I'd like to share about "Coming As You Are".

"As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. (Matthew 9:9 NIV)

Come as you are, as you were,
As I want you to be
As a friend, as an old enemy.
— Nirvana from “Come As You Are”

When Jesus walked the Earth he went about bringing Good News to others, especially for the downtrodden, the hurting, the sick and, of course, sinners.

He was not going about condemning these people. His criticisms were mainly toward the religious leaders of the day and towards the self-righteous.

This is an interesting thing. Christ came to call sinners, but he did not make it a requirement to get your life together first and be righteous. Instead he offered compassion and the invitation to follow him. He accepted them for who they were and he did not demand immediate change.

How very different from what people then, and now, expect of God. Most of us tend to think God will not love us unless we are “good”. And since no one can measure up to the high standard of goodness we wallow in our unworthiness. We are insecure. We keep trying to get it right, but without realizing that God and Jesus are freely offering the help we so desperately need to live our lives. This is why grace is such an amazing thing. It is commonplace Christian theology that we are “saved by grace, not by righteousness” and yet we still attempt to live up to high moral standards without surrendering to this grace. Or worse, we simply compromise; believing that all will be forgiven without ever having a transformation of the heart.

"I Cannot, He Can, I will Let Him".

It seems to me that the transformation takes place by first admitting we can not do it on our own, accepting God’s love and mercy (the grace), and then doing what Jesus taught.

In the Gospel of Matthew the religious leaders of the day ask Jesus why he was eating and hanging out with sinners (like tax collectors who were considered most unclean). Jesus answers the question by telling them that sick people are the ones who need a doctor. He quoted Old Testament prophets when he instructed the Pharisees to find out what the verse from Hosea 6:6 means: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”

Who is more Christ like, the preacher who condemns or the person who spends time helping the poor, the hungry and the downtrodden?

Here Comes Everybody

Maybe one of the challenges we have with this “come as you are” teaching is that it means God’s invitation is for everyone. It is all inclusive, not exclusive. This means there will be people at the banquet table of the Lord that we would prefer not to sit with.

If it was good enough for Jesus to meet people where they were and offer compassion, forgiveness and love then it should be okay with us. How differently the message of the Gospel (which means “Good News”) sounds when we don’t demand that people accept it right away or tell them they are condemned to hell. People need to see our love in action and they need to know that God loves everyone in spite of their shortcomings. Making a decision to follow Christ might take some thought, but if we welcome others in Jesus’ name without demanding immediate conversion then we give people the opportunity to consider the message first.

Rules and regulations miss the point. Yes, we need order and good orderly direction and the kind that you find throughout the Bible is practical and proper. Maybe we could spend more time suggesting that seekers consider the message first and then share our own experience of God’s love in our lives. As I’ve heard a friend share, “I was once where you are now. Come find out where you can be.”

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30 - NIV)".