| Come As You Are |
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| Written by Addie |
| Wednesday, 11 February 2009 05:53 |
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Every December after Christmas at my church, we have a college Sunday where the college students lead the service. This was my sermon from that day. As you read it, picture your sanctuary: your church, your college ministry, your bible study, that conference you go on, that group of friends you can depend on, even this website. From Matthew 11: 28 "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. 29 Walk with me and work with me--watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. 30 Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." Come as you are. For a Westminster College student, that’s an especially familiar phrase, as it is the theme for this church’s CAYA (College Age Young Adults) ministry. In reality though, doesn’t “come as you are” always have a postscript? “Come as you are…after you brush your teeth.” “Come as you are…once you’ve put on something suitable to wear.” “Come as you are…after you feel better; after you put your makeup on; when you’re done crying; when you’ve worked that out problem.” But look at what Jesus says in Matthew: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Jesus takes out the postscript. He says to come now, just as you are, burdens and all. We always have to “prepare” to come as we are. How many of you have ever heard the words, “get up and get ready for church?” No one would think to just get up and go to church. Ironically, this is the place that we are told to not prepare for, and oftentimes, it’s the one we prepare for the most. I don’t usually parade around in my dorm wearing “church clothes.” We have to put on a face. As college students, we find ourselves putting on a face by pretending that we’re that same person that you talked to last time you saw us. Sure, we took some classes, but we’re still the person who graduated from around here, right? Not really. We went away to college. We met people that were different from the ones we grew up with. We made decisions. But when we come home from break, in the quick, “how was your semester?” we can’t possibly portray all the changes we went through, so we “put on our face” and smile it away. What do YOU put on a face for? Jesus goes on to say in Matthew, “Walk with me and work with me--watch how I do it.” Look at how Jesus came into this world. A baby. He came as He was. He didn’t get all dressed up and brush His hair, and make sure He had a different color of green on than last year’s Christmas Eve service. He just came because the coming was the important thing. It wasn’t the condition in which He came, it was the fact that He came at all. Are we so wrapped up with how we come that we don’t end up showing up at all? We’re there physically, but our burdens aren’t. How can we expect our burdens to be lifted if we leave them at home? This room we’re in right now is a sanctuary. Quite literally. But it’s also a sanctuary. A place of rest, a retreat, to lay your burdens before the Lord. It’s the place for you to show up in your pajamas and lay down your problems. You don’t need to show up as a mighty king, but rather a vulnerable baby. So, this is me, coming as I am: When I went to college I met people who were smart. They were talented and funny. They got my jokes and they thought about and discussed important issues. They also didn’t go to church. They had had experiences with people who did go to church that had given them no reason to. They didn’t have a sanctuary like this one. And I knew they were burden-laid. YOU have a sanctuary. You have an oasis to replenish your thirst. You may lay down your burdens and follow the path of the Lord in this place. There have been times when I have walked into this sanctuary and known that my burdens have been lifted. I knew I wouldn’t have to wait much longer. I knew I had made the right decision to go there. I knew that my heart would heal again. I knew that it was a good change after all. You, God’s sanctuary, have given me that. Jesus, the light shining in the darkness, says “…learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Next time you enter this sanctuary, really enter it; come as you are. Allow the Lord to take away your burdens so that you may find rest in your soul. |
