"I Am Willing," He Said...

Let me start by saying that if I were Jesus, I wouldn't have given me a second thought. I say this to express that I haven't the slightest idea why Jesus loves me. I don't know why He went so far to prove to me that He loves me. I don't know why He calls me His own and gives me a hope and a future. But that's my Jesus; He's just that kinda God.

I think that so many people are caught up in the perception that Jesus only came to judge and to condemn. I can understand why the enemy of our souls would fight so hard to keep this impression in people's minds. The truth is that knowledge of how much God loves us gives us such a boundless amount of power over the wiles of our adversary. It's the knowledge of God's love that causes people to be filled with Him, and thus having an immeasurable amount of confidence and power. It says so in Ephesians 3:19 (NIV):

And to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God

To know a love that surpasses knowledge. It goes beyond our limited mental faculties. But it is ours for the taking, nonetheless. And when we know this love in the depth of our hearts, we are filled with the fullness of God, because God is Love. They are one and the same.

But I digress...

The purpose of this post is to speak to someone who is wondering whether or not Jesus wants to deliver them, or use them, or make them whole. These words stand as a testament to a kind and compassionate God who desperately loves a flawed people.

In Mark 1, there is a certain leper who saw Jesus in Galilee. The bible records their meeting in verses 40-42:

40. A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean."
41. Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!"
42. Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.

This man had lived the life of a leper. Ostracized. Scorned. Rejected. But he heard that there was a Man in town who drove out demons and healed the sick. I'm sure he struggled with whether or not to go to Jesus. Would He send him away? Would He reject him like all of the others? But in the end, the man went to Jesus, still skeptical. "I know You can do it if You can bear the stench of my disease," he said, " I know that You can help me if You are willing to bother with my filth." And Jesus in all of His kindness and compassion, reached out to touch a man who had not felt the touch or connection of another human being in such a long time. Jesus touched this man and said, "I am willing."

This moves me to tears. Because I know that my sinful nature is like leprosy to Jesus. But He saw me in my sin, and He washed me in His blood, and then He went the extra mile to call me "friend." People, Jesus is willing to love you. Jesus is willing to wash you. Jesus is willing to take you just as you are. You don't have to be perfect for Him. You don't have to be "good." You don't have to be clean. Jesus will reach out to you from where He is. He will touch you and His touch will make you whole.


Come Just As You Are...