Come….As You Are…..and be Loved….

This is the invitation I so seek to say to others in my world. It is the message that I want so much for our church (God’s church…all of us) to grow into being. To stop worrying about folks’s clothes, motives, and affluence and simply love them with God’s love.
Being newly mantled with the Baptist mantle (we joined a Baptist church Easter Sunday) its a little different perspective than my Methodist or Assembly of God history. In my hometown in Southern Arkansas, the Baptist were known as the “get them saved at any cost” crowd and the Methodist were teased about being the ones who needed saving. As a girl who whirls in a lot of circles of life, my heart cry is to work more on being about sharing God’s love, teaching His ways and a whole lot less about the worrying about the rest of the messes and details. You see, I don’t personally think its my job to get them saved, its not something I stay up nights feeling guilty about lost chances to “save” someone by my words that day. In fact, God tells me if its worrying, I’m not to do it period! If I am not sharing and taking His love to the world, I am simply to ask forgiveness and then take on the Great Commission again. Love others as you love yourselves….Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind….

Truth is, God had a talk with me about that when I was living that way….spending all my time figuring out how to get so and so saved….and God said, in His usual blunt whisperings to me (I hear He gently whispers to others, to me its more a blunt pssssst!!! like “get this my precious short bus girl”) He said “It is not your job to save them my child, my Son did that on the cross, it is their choice to choose to love me, believe in me, to come to me and I will save them when they decide to follow, it is YOUR job to love them, as they are, without judgement, teach them that I forgive them and they are free indeed, then help them learn to love others” Well, there you go, I wasn’t even on the right goal, same jungle, different tree!
God draws us to Him. We are drawn to Him….by Him…and only His saving Grace can free us from ourselves and our sins. As Christians, we are to be a peculiar people….we are to walk in Christ’s light, not in guilt, shame, consternation, or condemnation, but to daily ask forgiveness for our mess ups, daily ask for direction, and daily walk the walk God puts before us.
I don’t know about you, but that post it that says chief mess maker isn’t there as a joke. I mess up regular…and being the bold child I am I do it loud when I do! God didn’t say “There she is the queen mother of perfection, ” no, He regularly reminds me that He is the only one on the throne and Jesus at His side. However, I’m working for that cottage behind the castle in heaven…there are many mansions where God lives, and I have in mind a manor straight behind the Glory of God….can you imagine the flowers that will grow there in that kind of light?!
Today I was so privileged to have breakfast with one of the gifts God has given to my life. Mrs. Goofy lives about 45 minutes from me, we met through the internet….and yet there is something so precious about our fellowship I tear up coming home every.single.time that we are together….for the fellowship is so blessed for me! Sherry has that amazing ability to listen and share at a level that makes one feel so accepted, despite spilling your deepest messups …she always has an uplifting and encouragin word to say to gain a new God perspective on Grace. She was my very first Alabama friend I left our first meeting feeling like I found part of my brain and it was in her body!
What a blessing it is to have a friend who says Come…As you are…and be loved….and for that Sherry I say thank you so much, you are one of those friends in my life and I am SO thankful for you!

much love,