Just As I Am

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”

These words are the slogan of the United States of America. They are transcribed on a plaque at the Statue of Liberty, the proud-standing statue guarding over Liberty Island in New York Harbor that invites all those disenfranchised from around the world to her shores and offers them a safe haven. But think about those words for a moment. They sounds familiar, do they not? Of course they do. This is the same sentiment used to describe God’s willingness to accept us. Picture God saying to the world “Bring me your tired. Bring me your poor. Bring me your sinners. Bring me your wretched. Bring me the lost.”

See, God doesn’t want the clean and sinless (well, he does, but that’s not the point). He isn’t looking for perfection. He created us, and he knows we can’t attain perfection. We’re human. Perfection is not part of our DNA. What he wants, though, is the willing. He wants us willing to follow him, no matter what. No matter the cost, no matter the fear, no matter what we must give up or change.

“Just as I am, thy love unknown has broken every barrier down; Now, to be thine, yea thine alone, O lamb of God, I come!”

These lyrics, from one of the most well-known Christian hymns, holds a lot of meaning to me these days. I went through a long period of time where I told myself I wasn’t good enough. I was a horrible person. I’ve done horrible things in my lifetime. There’s no way God could love me or want me. I actually had myself convinced of this. But see, that’s a lie. That’s the adversary tainting my mind, playing with me, trying to pull me further away from my redeemer. One day I realized exactly what it was. I realized that, yes, God DID love me. He DID want me, and he was just waiting for me to realize it and call upon him.

That’s what God does. It doesn’t matter how far we stray. It doesn’t matter how long we go between Mass (or other church services). He is unchanging. He waits patiently. It’s up to US to take that step. It only takes one step.. one simple phrase.. “God, I need you,” and he swoops right in and carries us the rest of the way.. just as we are.

Oh, what a mighty God I serve.