Come As You Are

This morning at church, I was thinking of one of Nirvana's songs, as you do. Maybe I was attempting to stay young, although the song I was thinking of was released in 1992, so I'm not sure how that will make me feel young! And I'm not sure Kurt Cobain would have thought that a mum at church would one day be thinking of his song. I know that his song is actually about people's expectations of others, but all I could think of was the words "Come as you are".

I walked into church this morning, and could see the husband sitting on the front row. I walked to the front, carrying five boy's jumpers, 2 kids work cards, a child's belt, a Play Station cable, a small knight, a pocket full of Lego and a naked Action Man! And that's when I thought of the song, 'Come as you are'. It made me smile, because I knew how true it was. I knew God had seen the morning, the fact that I dressed my youngest in the church lounge, and that I could come to Him just as I was, naked Action Man and jumpers in tow.

How wonderfully encouraging and refreshing, that God let's me come to Him just as I am, a sinner, a mess, a rushed mum, a jumper carrier. I had nothing to bring Him, I came to Him a bit like the Action Man I was carrying; naked, empty handed and not really able to do anything by myself. Whether I'm tired or flustered, I know I can come to Him just as I am. No qualification needed or tick list checked. Just me. Because of what Jesus has done for me, because He has made a way for me, I can come to Him! I sat down to hear the preacher talk about the Samaritan woman who had come to draw water. She came as a woman who actually put all her trust and comfort in men. She came as she was and Jesus approached her and offered her salvation. He didn't offer it to her because she was good or had it all together. He offered her salvation as a gift. I'm always moved by people's stories and as it was a baptismal service, there were testimonies to hear. I love that each person shared about God meeting them just as they were. It's not about getting it all sorted before we come to Him, Jesus let's us come to Him just as we are, offering us so many undeserved blessings.

"God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it." Ephesians 2v8-9