God Calls Us Just As We Are

1 Corinthians (below) explains that God calls us just as we are. God doesn't call the wise, the wealthy, or the powerful, he calls the foolish, the poor, and the weak. Without God there is no wisdom. wealth, or power. The world has its own versions of these things, but it's not eternal. We are very little, selfish creatures without God. What's amazing about this is that God knows how humans are and, yet, he still calls us to be his people.

26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus,who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness,holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”  1 Corinthians 1:26-31

One of my favorite hymns, "Just As I Am", has a verse that says,

"Just as I am - Thou wilt receive,Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve; Because Thy promise I believe,"

This verse is hits the nail on the head, God will receive, welcome, pardon, cleanse, and relieve us just as we are. God understands that we all have pasts. Some Christians have been to prison, some have committed sins that don't send you to prison, some have cheated on their spouse, some were prostitutes, and some were greedy. These are our lives before Christ: sinful. Jesus died to save us from our sins and to give us eternal life. It doesn't matter to God what you have done in the past. As long as you call on Him and confess your sinful condition, He will wash away your sins. God calls us as we are.

It's reassuring to know that God accepts us as we are and still loves us. He created you the way you are, so he knows how you come. The books of Revelation and Isaiah speak on this subject:

"The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life." Revelation 22:17

"“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool."  Isaiah 1:18 

An example of Jesus accepting someone as they are and forgiving them can be found in John 8:1-11. In this passage the Pharisees brought before Jesus a woman who had been caught in adultery and they asked Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” Jesus replied by writing on the ground, "Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” At this point everyone left, which left only the woman and Jesus. He asked her if anyone had condemned her and she said they hadn't. Jesus told the woman, “Then neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Jesus made two points here: come as you are and leave your life of sin. Both of these points are equally important. I've addressed the former, so I'll address the latter.

 The church today sometimes misunderstands and teaches incorrectly the message of Jesus accepting us as we are. Grace is not a pass to keep living the way you did before. You can't continue living a life of sin and expect Jesus to excuse your behavior. Jesus didn't tell the adulterous woman that it was fine to continue her illicit affair, He told her she was forgiven and to leave your life of sin. She was still a sinner, since she was a human, but she could stop living a life of sin. Jesus accepts our sinful condition and saves us with the expectation that we will give our lives over to Him instead of sin.

The Bible does shed light on this subject, here are a few examples:

"You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love." Galatians 5:13

"For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you." 1 Peter 4:3-4

"Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy." Romans 13:13

In the future, remember that your past sins don't keep you from Christ unless you don't ask His forgiveness. God loves us no matter what, but be careful not to mistake His unconditional love for "freedom to indulge the flesh." Think of how a great an example we as Christians could set if we would behave decently all of the time.

Decision-Making 101

I made a pretty big decision a couple of weeks ago that I would like to share. After much prayer, thought, and discussion, I decided against going to college for now. 

I applied for admission to three different colleges (I was accepted to two of those colleges) to major in English, which I would have started this semester. My plan was to earn a BA in English and then look for employment as a professional writer. I thought that sounded like a job I would like because, I like to write and I can write whatever I'm asked to. I saw a degree as something that can prove my abilities as a writer. 

My decision was based on a couple things. First, I'm happy with writing my blog and I don't think I would be happy writing for someone else. I learned recently (as I wrote about when I returned to this blog) that writers write about things they are passionate about. For example: if I were to find a job as a writer of vacuum cleaner instruction manuals, then I would be bored out of my skull because it's not my passion to write about vacuum cleaners. Working a job that makes you absolutely miserable is no way to live.

The other part to this is that I would be writing for someone else. I don't want to write for a boss, I wouldn't have the freedom to write whatever I want. Ultimately, I write for two souls: God and myself. I write this blog to share the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ with others, who I pray will believe it, but I don't write this blog to get paid or to find other people's favor. I am glad people read my blog, don't get me wrong, it's just not my ultimate purpose. 

Second, I don't need a college degree to be a writer, I already am a writer. A writer is: "one that writes," according to Merriam-Webster. You don't have to have a Bachelor's of Arts in English degree to write a book or a blog, heck you don't need any degree. You just have to write. Telling yourself that you're a writer is the first step to being a writer. Also, I'm doing the best thing I can do to improve my writing by writing. 

I'm not ruling out college forever, but I am ruling it out for now. I was getting caught up in what everybody was doing, which was going to college. My life, as a disabled person, is already vastly different in some areas than the average person, so it's not unfathomable that college is different for me. I'm not complaining in anyway by saying this because differences are okay, in fact sometimes differences are good. By going to college I thought I would be doing something with my life, but I did not realize that I was already doing something with my life.

I shared this decision because it shows that if you trust God He will lead in the right direction. It took a few months for me to figure this college decision, so I'm not bragging. I give the credit to God for poking and prodding at me until I saw what He was trying to show me. I prayed that He would lead me in the right direction and he did. What better proof is there than that?

Here's a few verses I was inspired by:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

"Who, then, are those who fear the Lord? He will instruct them in the ways they should choose." Psalm 25:12