Grace ~ Come as you are
GRACE defined
Who am I that the God of all grace
Wipes the tears from my face and says, "Come as you are"?
Matthew West Me on Your Mind
I absolutely LOVE music! Words and melodies just resonate with my soul.
One of my favorite songs is Matthew West's "Me on Your Mind". If this song were on a cassette tape, it would be worn out by now.
The words that get to me the most are these words from the chorus - who am I that the God of all grace wipes the tears from my eyes and says "Come as you are."
Yes, there are children in this picture, and yes, they are virtually 100% covered in mud. Let me introduce you to our grandsons, Daymon, Carter, and Abrahm.
My friends, just like my daughter-in-law didn't turn her boys away because they were unclean, dirty, filthy messes, the God of all grace will NEVER, EVER turn you away no matter how unclean, dirty, filthy, or messy you feel.
One of the most beautiful stories of grace is found in John 4 ~ the woman at the well. It wasn't a coincidence that she and Jesus were alone at the well, God orchestrated that holy moment. These verses are my favorite part of the conversation:
16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
17 “I have no husband,” she replied.
Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
Jesus didn't ignore her sins, He didn't justify her sins, He didn't excuse her sins ~ Friends, He loved her in spite of her sins. He loved her just as she was ~ GRACE - come as you are.
The Bible doesn't tell us this, but I can only imagine the lady repented of her sins because she was convicted in love and not condemned in judgement. Grace doesn't give permission to sin; grace loves us to obedience.
But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8
God loves us to the point that He sent His only Son to die on a cross so that we would be forgiven of whatever sin is separating us from Him. God sent Jesus to die while we were sinners - not when we got our acts right. God knew we could never get ourselves right on our own. We had to have grace!
A friend of mine went to a Japanese Kintsugi class. She described how this art form takes broken pieces of pottery, puts them back together, and fills in the cracks with gold. Isn't that how our God works, He takes our broken pieces, just as they are, puts them back together, fills the gaps with the precious blood of Jesus, and creates a more beautiful version of us despite our flaws, our imperfections, our brokenness. We can't put our pieces back together, we can't fix our brokenness - no matter how hard we try - only God can! Grace ~ come as you are!
Come as I am? Seriously, God, do You have any idea what all I've done? Do You even know the evil thoughts I think? Oh, God, I've messed up so much - it can never be made right. God, You just don't know me.
Truth is, God knows EVERYTHING about you, even those hidden thoughts, and yet He is still crazy about you and wants a relationship with you. Come as you are.
Won't you let Him take you in His arms, cleanse your heart, heal your hurts, repair your brokenness, and restore your soul. God's loving arms are always open.
Grace ~ come as you are . . .
Restore my soul…….
Yes,Lord!