becoming

Have you ever read or heard something that just grabbed you? It’s almost as if you can’t get away from it. I ran across a discussion several months ago like that. It was in the blog of a very prominent professor, believe it or not, when he was asked some questions about homosexuality. He turned the dialogue into a more general discussion of sin as a whole. Every single one of us, he said, is invited by Jesus to come to God. And we’re invited to come exactly as we are. We do not need to fix ourselves up first (as if we could even if we wanted to). However, none of us are invited to stay exactly as we are. God loves us too much to leave us in our sin.

Come as you are, but don’t stay that way.

Wow. Even now the phrase feels loaded. It has such simplicity and also such depth. I just can’t get away from it.

Last night our community of faith talked about this idea, this phrase. It can be very difficult to openly confront. Let’s be honest: none of us like to told what to do, or where to go, or how to think. Especially here on the West Coast, we are extremely independent. Our great grandparents journeyed along the Oregon Trail in wagons because they were tough, strong-willed individuals. And that mentality has been passed down as a sort of cultural ethos. It’s who we are. “I don’t need anyone or anything. I can make it on my own!”

But that’s not the message of Scripture. And I think if we’re honest with ourselves, that philosophy of life carries some serious problems. See, there comes a point when we realize we need other people. Maybe it takes a tragic car accident or horrifying doctor’s report to prove it. But eventually you realize you can’t do this thing on your own. And we don’t have to “be our own boss” long to recognize that we don’t make the greatest of decisions all the time. Maybe it takes mistaking a partner’s intentions or a temporary lapse in judgment to finally get it. But it is going to happen. We’re not very good at being in control. And actually, that’s kinda the point!

You look like Jesus. Did you know that? The very first book of the Bible, Genesis, affirms that we were each created in the image of God. We look like Him! We are to be His ambassadors and representatives on earth. The problem is, the image looks fuzzy on most of us. Sin has clouded that beautiful picture so that it’s hardly even recognizable in most Christians. To a very large degree, that’s the purpose of discipleship. In our journey with Jesus, we are becoming more and more like Him. Every day we are transformed into a truer image of who we were originally created to be. We’re not there yet, but we’re on our way.

The homosexual is not the only one who needs to change. In fact, let’s just give that a break for awhile. Yes, I believe it’s a sin. But why do we have to hammer on it? Pastors need to change too, you know. How many preachers are morbidly obese? Why don’t we talk about the sin of gluttony? How many of us struggle with our pride on a daily basis? Can we address the destructive issues of gossip, pornography and workaholics? We all need to allow Jesus to transform our lives and help us become who we need and want to be. It doesn’t matter if we work for Starbucks or Disney or Walmart. We come to Jesus exactly the way we are…but we don’t stay that way.

I am in the process of becoming. So are you. Some of us are fighting that process more than others, though. Maybe today we can relax a bit more. Maybe we can trust God. He created us after all. Maybe He knows what He’s doing.