“Come As You Are…”

If you hang around “church” long enough you’ll hear the saying ‘come as you are’..most people think this is just about the style of dress; not having a dress or a button down shirt w/a tie. Of course it goes a lot deeper than that. It’s also about not “having it all together” - mentally, spiritually..you might be ‘the woman at the well’ who just left a man’s house that ain’t ya man (John 4:4-26), maybe the person on the run from your past (Exodus 2:11, 4:31), or a person who struggles with growing in faith (Mark 9:23)..doesn’t matter, He calls and accepts us all exactly how we are when we “meet” Him.

When He called me I was in the middle of ATL..at a music festival..smoking a blunt, waiting for Nas to hit the stage. He didn’t show me how I was living wrong..didn’t even tell me to stop anything I was doing, He simply showed me He had a plan for my life & gave me the option to follow Him! Without knowing what was ahead I agreed in my spirit. The changes began to come gradually the closer I got to Him & the longer I followed Him. This wasn’t based off religious text or routines, it was done bc of relationship. You don’t do the right thing — as a child, a spouse, a friend — just bc it’s what’s right..you do it bc of how you feel about that person. The same goes for our relationship with our Heavenly Father.

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“…but don’t leave the same way you came!”

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While He wants us to come as we are, there is a certain level of personal responsibility to “govern our hearts & actions”. It’s nothing for God to wash away & forgive our sins, but what’s the point if we go back (intentionally) into the same mess we’re asking to be saved from?? 2 Peter 2:21 says, “It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life.”

Because at the foundation of my journey was love & trust, whenever He asked/suggested something of me (bc we have free will, we can tell Him ‘no’), I trusted what He showed me and I did what was asked. It started off small, “leave this person alone”, “don’t go back to this place”, “show loving kindness to this person”…and before long the transformation was taking place! I also began noticing the route in life I was on was different than the one I was originally on.

There’s several instances in the Bible when the instructions are given for someone not to go back the same way that person came. Almost every time this is for physical protection — it’s also about spiritual protection. Sometimes an actual location, others it’s a state of mind..it’s to prevent us from falling into the same situations and traps we’ve come across in the past.

[Read Mark 8:26 for one example, 1 Kings 13:1-24 for another when a man of God didn’t listen]

It’s a continual, daily process of allowing Him & the Word to “Renew our mind and spirit”