Come As You Are

I have to confess something. It is very scary to write this blog. I still have not gotten over the nervousness of putting it out there. I feel completely unworthy to be writing it. I fear that someone will think it’s stupid. I fear that people will judge me. Someone who doesn’t know me well may think it’s just for show. Someone who knows me too well will think I have no right, considering all of my many past mistakes. I feel like I am completely inadequate. How can I send out these messages when I have no formal education in this area? I have only been studying the Bible in depth for a few years. That definitely does not make me an expert. My main fear is that I will in some way damage the message that I am trying to bring. It is scary!

Just when I think I should probably delete the whole thing and pretend it never was, I remember:  I wouldn’t need Jesus if I was perfect. And if I didn’t need Jesus, then I would have no reason to write this blog. I am only trying to tell the story of what He has done for me. Also, Jesus didn’t come to earth for the blameless. He came for the broken. 

I am reminded of the story in Matthew, when Jesus called Matthew to be a disciple. Matthew was a tax collector. In those days, tax collectors were greatly despised. They were corrupt and often took advantage of the people. When the Pharisees saw Jesus having dinner at Matthew’s house, with Matthew and other sinners, they asked His disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” To this Jesus replied, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” That is right! If I wasn’t a so sick from sin, I wouldn’t need Him, the Great Physician. 

I am also reminded of the great men in the Bible. David was a murderer and adulterer, yet God said that he was a man after His own heart. Paul, who wrote much of the New Testament, says himself that he is “chief among sinners.” There are many more examples, but these are the two that come to mind first.

If God can use these men to do great things, then surely He can use me to write a little blog. And I honestly do feel that He is leading me to write this, as strange as that may sound. 

So, today my message is that when you feel God calling you to do something, don’t hold back. Don’t let your past be an excuse. Don’t let your fear hold you back. Don’t let your sins make you feel unworthy. Don’t even let the busyness of life stop you. (For each blog post I write, I am interrupted an average of 30 times by children and the phone!) You definitely don’t have to be perfect for God to use you. He can use ANYBODY that is willing. Come just as you are! Say “Yes, Lord!”, even it is the scariest thing you have ever done.