God wants you. It is a simple statement but one that holds unbelievable repercussions. The Lord of the entire universe, the God that controls every atom and every breath taken by every human being on the planet wants you. He doesn’t want a cleaned up version of you or a sinless version of you, He simply wants you. He wants you in your rebellion and in your mess. He wants you with all of your doubts and with all of your anger. The wholly righteous master of the universe loves you and wants you to come back to Him. With all of the chaos and horrors of this world pressing down on you, a simple acceptance of this invitation can change everything. A gift freely given to you by Jesus can mean the difference between living your life in a purposeless haze and living your life as a child of God. Take it from a person who is one of the least deserving of the gift of salvation, no matter how dirty your past looks like, your future can be washed clean.
I can’t remember how many times I’ve heard one version or another of the same statement. “God couldn’t forgive me for everything I’ve done.” These people truly believe that God wouldn’t want to soil Himself with someone who is as sinful as they are and they, in a sense, have already resigned themselves to whatever judgment God has for them. The problem with this belief is that it is categorically wrong. Probably the most wrong statement ever made outside of the ones made by the snake in the Garden of Eden.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. – 1 John 1:9
Notice that Paul literally says “all unrighteousness.” Not just the not so serious sins, but all of them. The reality is that all of us (even those of us who are saved) have lived lives that are far from pure in any sense of the word. If you were able to read the minds of even the most pious person you have ever met, you would be disgusted at what you saw. Your sins are horrendous and an affront to God, but guess what? All of ours are. That was the whole point of sending Christ to earth. God saw how His children were incapable of maintaining His standards so He loved us so much as to send a part of Himself to earth to receive the punishment we all deserve. I don’t care if you are an adulterer, have committed murder or rape, have abandoned your family or any other sin, if you desire to be washed clean, God is waiting for you and He is ready. All you have to do is see the people who God has used in the Bible to understand the limitless capability of God to forgive sin.
- Moses – A murderer
- Jacob – Tricked his father and stole his brother’s birthright
- King David – Committed adultery and murdered the woman’s husband.
- Matthew – A tax collector
- Saul of Tarsus (Paul) – Actively persecuted the early Christian Church, imprisoning and killing Christians.
The list goes on and on. The reality is that to a wholly pure and sinless God, we are all wholly wretched. An unrepentant murderer is as condemned by God as an unrepentant liar. Though there are levels of sin, breaking any of God’s law makes us guilty of breaking the whole of it.
For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. – James 2:10
The good news is that accepting Christ into your life makes us new.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! – 2 Corinthians 5:17
Are you ready to become a new creation? Are you ready to accept the most precious gift ever given? Though we all deserve the condemnation and punishment of God for our sins, God’s love has given us a way to be washed clean. No matter what you’ve done and no matter who you are, accepting Jesus Christ and the sacrifice that He committed for you on the cross is effective for everyone. Yes, even you.
If you are interested in learning more about taking the next steps on your journey to salvation, please fill out a prayer request. We will pray for you and help connect you with a bible believing church that will help guide you on the journey of finding all that God wants for you!
