Where Did the Phrase "Come as You Are" Originate?

Jesus ate and drank with tax collectors and sinners. Matthew 9:10 Jesus protected those in the middle of their sin, such as the woman caught in adultery that Jesus saved from being stoned (John 8:3-11) and the woman at the well that Jesus told that he already knew her sins. (John 4:1-42)

Jesus knows the things that we struggle with. He knows our addictions, our brokenness and where we fall short. He knows where we are, and he’s not giving us permission to stay there.

“The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.“ - Galatians 5:19-21

Jesus knows our sinful humanness. He knows the temptations we face daily and the struggles that weigh us down. Our failures don’t disqualify us; they remind us of our need for him. 

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” - Romans 3:23

If we could have cleaned up ourselves to be worthy of being in the presence of God, there would have never been a need for Jesus to come save us from ourselves in the first place. But the Old Testament shares story after story of how in our own human power and might, we can’t ever be perfect enough. There are times when we will fall short. Jesus knew he was coming to save the sinners. (Matthew 9:13) These stories remind and show us we are all human and in our humanness, we make mistakes. There are times when we just don’t get it right. Sometimes those are little things we miss the mark on and sometimes they’re huge mistakes. Either way, Jesus is waiting for us -with open arms.

Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/LillyRoadstones

We cannot stay as we are. The gift of grace that God gave us through Jesus to be forgiven does not give us permission to stay in our sin. To say we are sorry and return to the sin in the next minute. Jesus is not our permission to stay in our repetitive sin cycles. Jesus is not our free pass to continue living in our sin.  We are called to repent and lay it at the cross and follow Jesus. (Acts 3:19, Matthew 3:2) We won’t ever be perfect like Jesus, but we can repent and receive his sacrifice to fill in the gaps. We are covered by his blood. As the Apostle Paul wrote,

“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” - Romans 6:1-2

God’s grace is a precious gift and not one to be abused. We must die to our sin, which means that we do not continue sinning over and over. We do not let sin control our decisions and lives. We must die to ourselves and put on the full armor of God. We must stand in our new creation. We can declare King David’s prayer over ourselves.

 “Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” - Psalm 51:2

The apostle John gives us a firm warning: 'If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.' (1 John 1:8) While we are called to turn away from sin and repent, we will never be completely without sin in this life. That’s why we must remain open to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to guide and refine us. When we slip up, we need to be humble and interruptible, so the Holy Spirit can quickly redirect our hearts back to God’s truth, grace, and righteousness.

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” - John 14:6

Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/shuang paul wang

The Apostle Paul reminds us, 

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”- Ephesians 2:8-9

This verse reminds us that our salvation is by grace through faith -not by works. We don’t earn our way to Jesus by fixing ourselves first. He meets us where we are and transforms us.

This is a pretty straight forward and to the point message. And what a beautiful invitation. Jesus went to the cross to bear all of our sins. He shed his blood and suffered on our behalf, to give us the most precious gift that our Father in Heaven has ever given us so that we can be saved. So that we may have a seat at His table. Without cleaning up our messes first. By the Grace of God and our faith in Jesus. We must do the work to clean up ourselves and turn away from our sinful nature, but this scripture is very clear that we cannot do it by our works alone and that we do not need to do it first before we come to Jesus for his help. Jesus’s beautiful invitation:

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” - 2 Corinthians 12:9 

And again he invites us:

“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.”- Matthew 11:28-29

Jesus invites us in our weakness, in our struggles, and in our burdens. Jesus never said, “clean up your messes and then come to me. Figure it out all alone, and then come to me and I’ll receive you,” No, his invitation is very clear. He’s asking you to come to him, just as you are- in your weakness, in your tired, brokenness and sinning ways.  Come and find rest and learn from him.

You are not alone. Tuck this into your heart today. Jesus loves us at our worst, before we can even think about changing our ways. Let him step into your mess. Let him lift you up out of all that you’re going through. He gave his life so that your life can be to the fullest.

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” - Romans 5:8

Photo Credit: Joshua Earle/Unsplash