As we are…

How can God accept us “as we are” when we can’t even accept ourselves?

We've done terrible things in our lives: stolen, abused, neglected, manipulated, destroyed, judged, indulged and overindulged, lied, gossiped, ignored, skimmed, heckled, embarrassed, accused, bullied, swore, obsessed, and worse. And that's just on the outside. Inside, we are thought of as scum of the earth. Not always, but it reared its ugly head and still does to this day.

I

ndeed, if people knew the real us, there would be very few circles that we would be invited into.

We believe today that the God of the Bible invites us into his circle. We have learned that we are not only in line to enter into a relationship with him but also in line to spend this life and the life after in his presence.

A baseline that our God operates from is “come as you are,” – which works with us when accepting ourselves, our friends, and even the place we choose to worship.

The band “We Are Messengers” penned a song with the following lyrics:

If I didn't know what it hurt like to be broken Then how would I know what it feels like to be whole? If I didn't know what it cuts like to be rejected Then I wouldn't know the joy of coming home.

This reflection of our journey excites the appreciation of the approval and grace granted these two broken souls as we both came from very broken and dark places. But we don't walk in darkness anymore. By allowing us entrance into light (a beautiful, authentic relationship with the God of the Bible), gratitude replaces regret.

This confidence comes not from our theological education, as neither of us of anything near formal biblical training. Our sureness comes from the proof that God has placed on our paths, the actual words of the Bible, and the teachings of trained ministers.

We acknowledge that our doctrine, or dogma, or whatever it’s called, could sometimes be faulty. Still, the principles of forgiveness and unconditional love are time-tested and wholly applicable as we move closer daily to an eternal relationship with the God of the Bible.

In short, we are just sharing notes from our journey.

So back to “come as you are” or “from flip flops to faith,” if you will, simply means that it doesn’t matter where we came from or where we are. It doesn’t matter what we have done, what we are doing, what we are driving or wearing. The outsides don’t matter, nor do the insides:

Anyone. Anywhere. Any time.-- All that is required is a willingness, and openness, to take a step toward faith – as “unworthy” as one might “feel.” A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

Not in line with what we have learned? Then, it is time to re-learn. We listen until we hear and feel the acceptance.

We desire to share to the point that those reading and listening will stand at the door of hope (despite self-loathing) and decide to take a small step in. “Letting go to pursue” is the true gift that spirituality offers.

Lean in for a bit. What damage can be done?

Numerous stories from the Bible reflect God's acceptance of the less-than-perfect. Why are those stories there? We believe they remind us that God accepts all that accept him.

We are loved – no matter what!

That is true for the writer and the reader.

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Thoughts and ideas for this blog post were taken and built upon from asweunderstandhim.coffee podcast #6 titled “Come as you are” The podcast dropped on 5/7/2023. Click here to hear the podcast.

Photo by Tina Rolf on Unsplash

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