Come as you are.  Leave as He is!

“Come as you are.  Leave as He is!”

One of the beautiful truths of the gospel is the unconditional acceptance God has for everyone.  Jesus revealed this about His Father, His actions and lifestyle, and in the many parables and stories He shared.  My personal favorite is the Prodigal Son.  His Father ran to embrace and kiss him before he said a word,  and even afterward, upon hearing the great, sinful lifestyle he lived, his father carried him home and threw a celebratory party for him.  The leper, who knew that the law of God forbade anyone to touch him, was touched by Jesus and healed.  The woman caught in adultery, who was about to be stoned, was set free by Jesus; He refused to condemn her.  Over and over again, we see these examples of a God whose heart is filled with mercy and compassion.  A God who loves us as we are, but He does not leave us as He found us.  His love transforms us into His image.  This is why I believe the gospel invitation is “Come as you are and leave as He is!”

“Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness on the day of judgment;  because as he is, so are we in this world” (I John 4:17).          Ed Elliot