We hear it often enough: Come as you are. Jesus wants you as you are.
But too many stay that way.
Throughout the Bible, numerous people came to Jesus as they were, but few stayed that way. The ones who were truly changed were those who put their faith in Him, no matter what. The ones who didn’t had conditions.
Take the rich young man in John 3, for instance. He asked Jesus how he could go to heaven, and Jesus told him to sell his possessions and give them to the poor. The man left the same as when he came: lost and going to hell.
On the other end of the spectrum was Paul. Originally known as Saul, he persecuted Christians for their faith, but after his meeting with Jesus on the Damascus Road, he became not only a preacher but even wrote a few of the books that are now in our Bible (Acts 9). He came to Jesus as he was, but his whole attitude changed. He no longer had this extreme hatred of Christians. He no longer was filled with murderous rage. He came as he was, but he didn’t stay that way.
Too often people make a profession of faith but aren’t willing to change. They want the promise of heaven but don’t want to change their lifestyle on Earth. But 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” We’re supposed to be new. We’re supposed to change.
So yes, come as you are. God loves the worst of sinners, and we’re all sinners. No matter what you’ve done, God loves you and He will accept you. Come as you are.
But don’t stay that way.
