Have you ever felt like you need to be perfect to be a good Christian or follower of Jesus? I know I felt like that for many years. I thought I had to have myself all cleaned up and together before God would accept me or care about me or talk to me.

I couldn’t have been more wrong. God began to show me that He is not waiting for us to pull ourselves together before we can have a real, meaningful relationship with Him. Quite the opposite!

The Bible says in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

I love this verse because it shows so clearly that Jesus died for us while we were still sinners. He died for us knowing how we would go against His ways, knowing how many times we would reject Him, knowing what sins we would still commit and He died anyway. Wow, that is love that is hard to fathom!

I think one of the biggest things that keep us away from God is this self-guilt that we are not worthy to come to God because we are ashamed of what we have done. But that is a lie.

Here are some things to know about God:

  1. He’s a loving Father: The Bible tells a story in the book of Luke about a wayward son who had turned his back on his father and went out and disgraced himself and his family name with wild living. When he had nothing left, he decided to try to go home. But do you know, his father wasn’t angry, wasn’t waiting to punish him or give him a lecture. The Bible says that his father was anxiously looking and waiting, ready to welcome his son back. He didn’t demand that he clean up before he would be allowed in. Instead, the father provided the clean clothing and shoes and prepared the most extravagant feast. That story is an awesome depiction of the love that God has towards us.
  2. Nothing can separate us from His love: This one is hard for us to comprehend because as human beings, our love is so often conditional. It’s hard to imagine that a pure and perfect God can love us even when we have done the worst of the worst. But that is who He is. The Bible says that absolutely nothing can separate us from God’s love. He loves us when we have it all together and He loves us just the same when we are messing up royally.

I pray that encourages you today to not wait until you feel you have it all together before you come to God. Run to Him today, just as you are and let Him clean you up and love on you and talk with you.

What are you waiting for? He’s waiting for you with open, loving arms.