Just As I Am

Have you ever heard someone say, “God loves me just the way I am,” even though they are living a worldly life in sin? Or “God accepts me for who I am”? Have you ever said something like that yourself? Have I ever thought that about my way of living? It is easy to take God’s love for granted and misuse it. We find ourselves content with “just as I am.” Our thinking can be: It’s just my nature to be quick tempered. God made me this way so that’s the way I’m going to live. God wants me to be happy so He’s okay with what I’m doing. I’ve always drank alcohol but God’s okay with that; it’s what I do. The trap of “just as I am” is a dangerous one.

Does God love me just as I am? The answer is two fold:

God does love us no matter what we’ve done. It doesn’t matter who we are, God loves us. That’s why God sent Jesus to die for the world because He loves us regardless of our sins (John 3:16). When we say that, that doesn’t mean God approves of our sin. It means that God loves us and wants to save us from our sins. Paul said that God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us (Romans 5:6). We come to God knowing that He loves us no matter what we’ve done and He is willing to forgive us.

But, while I come to God just as I am knowing that He loves me, I have to know that He doesn’t want me to stay just as I am. God loves us regardless of our sins but He does not approve our sin. If we are going to come to God then He says we have to get rid of our sins. God doesn’t just let us live any way we want to. If you stay just as you are in sin then God is not going to accept you. It will break His heart but it will be your fault for not being willing to give up your sin. You cannot live the “just as I am” life. That doesn’t work.

God loves you. God loves me. God sent Jesus to die for us even though we were unlovable, unworthy, and sentenced to death. We cannot twist God’s love and grace. God did not send Jesus to die on the cross so that we could continue living any way that we want to. God sent His only Son Jesus Christ so that we could be saved from sin and live a NEW life. No longer to be just as I was. Are you living just as you are? Or are you living God’s way? Don’t give in to “just as I am.” Live in “by the grace of God I am what I am”; created new in Christ.

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