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Where are you right now? Spiritually, I mean. Are you on an upswing, or headed downhill? Do you see spiritual progress in your life, or does it seem futile and empty? Are things going your way, or does it seem like you take one step forward and two steps backward? I want you to know that wherever you are, God takes you right at that point. You come like you are and he takes it from there.
I was reading 2 Corinthians 5, and verse 9 stopped me cold. It says, “So we make it our goal to please God…” I thought to myself, Lord, my desire is truly to please you. Yet I recognize that so much in me is not at this time pleasing to you. I can see some progress, but there’s still so much to do in order to be really pleasing to you.
At first the thought just overwhelmed me and discouraged me, as I realized anew how far from the goal I am. When will I ever please God in all my ways? At best my motives are tinged with selfishness and pride. In spite of all I know, I do not always practice it consistently. I truly had a mini panic-attack, just thinking about where I was in my spiritual life versus where I should be and wanted to be.
But the comforting presence of the Holy Spirit began to speak to my spirit. He brought to my mind the relationship that a child has with a parent. How do we relate to our children? If they are growing and progressing as they should be even though they are not yet totally mature, even though we see areas that need improvement, even though we know they have many lessons yet to learn, we can still say, “I delight in my child.” We see their potential, and we love them for who they are right where they are.
God is our heavenly father and he can delight in us, though we’re still incomplete, as long as we are growing and becoming. As long as we are open to his voice, as long as we seek his face. He takes us right where we are.
My friend told me about her experience with her two-year-old granddaughter, which is a wonderful illustration of this truth. Grandmother Nonnie was playing hide and seek with Dana, which was a new game she had just learned. Nonnie stayed outside while Dana went inside to hide. After a few minutes, she went looking for her. And there was Dana, with her head stuck under the sofa and her little rear end sticking straight out for everyone to see. But as far as Dana was concerned, she was hidden because she couldn’t see Nonnie, so she figured Nonnie couldn’t see her. She was playing hide and seek to the best of her ability, though of course it wasn’t exactly effective.
Of course, to a grandmother’s heart, it was delightful and joyous to see this little one performing to her limits, enjoying her new game, though she still had lots to learn about playing hide and seek. But at two years old, in her stage of development, she performed delightfully and as far as Nonnie was concerned, she performed perfectly.
Now, if grandmother did not have the heart to understand a two-year-old, she might have sat down with Dana and discussed the game of hide and seek. “Dana, my dear, let me explain to you the purpose of this game. You did not play it correctly and in order for us to keep playing hide and seek, dear, you’ll have to get it right. Understand?”
What grandmother would do that to her granddaughter? No, we delight in them at their various stages and adjust ourselves to meet their needs. Neither did Nonnie say to Dana, “Please observe how the six-year-olds play hide and seek, Dana, and do it like they do.” We don’t ask a two-year-old to live up to the expectations of a six-year-old. We don’t compare. We accept and love.
Oh, dear friends, isn’t it marvelous to know that our God takes us right where we are. I can’t tell you how often I go back to him, feeling just like a little child, apologizing for the mess I’ve made in one area or another, and thanking him that he continues to take me where I am. What great relief and freedom this is for us to know.
The Apostle Peter is a wonderful example of this truth that God takes us right where we are. You remember how at first, Peter was all enthusiasm as a follower of Christ, but he made lots of mistakes. He was the first to tell everyone what to do, the first to make bold commitments, and the first to get his foot in his mouth, make a fool out of himself, and run like a coward when put to the test. But through that whole process, Jesus kept working with him. He took Peter where he was. He knew what Peter was becoming, and he gave him time to get there.
We need to remember, for ourselves as well as for others, that God doesn’t ask us to get our act together before we can be acceptable to him. The truth is, we’re not capable of really getting our act together on our own anyway.
The old hymn, “Just as I am without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me, O Lamb of God, I come, I come,” expresses the truth beautifully. We come in our shambled state, our incomplete form, our less-than-together condition, and the blood of Jesus Christ which was shed for us is sufficient to meet our need, right where we are.
Another old hymn says, “I came to Jesus as I was, weary and worn and sad; I found in him a resting place, and he has made me glad.” Do you feel weary and tired and sad today? Do you feel like a failure, like you just don’t have the nerve to go to God again and ask him to take you back and pick you up and get you going one more time? Oh, I know that feeling.
But you see, we keep forgetting that God has never accepted us because we’re acceptable, because we’ve never been nor will we ever be acceptable enough for God on our own. Even when we think we’re doing pretty good and God can be proud of us, we’re no more acceptable to him than when we’ve blown it.
Recently, as I was thanking God for a specific blessing in my life, I said, “Lord, I don’t deserve this.” And that gentle inner voice agreed with me and reminded me that God never gives me what I deserve, praise his name. If that were true, I’d be in trouble. He gives out of his heart of love, and accepts me as I am. That’s good news to me, how about you?
Maybe we need a quick refresher course on grace—God’s grace. That’s what we’re all clinging to, because without it, the nicest one of us is in the biggest trouble you can imagine. We can’t be nice enough for God. We are born anew through God’s marvelous grace, and we have to live everyday of our lives by God’s grace as well. It is only by his grace that we’re capable of being pleasing to him.
And that grace reaches out to us wherever we are. I don’t think, as God looks at us from his vantage point, that he sees much difference at all between any of us—we’re all weary and worn and sad in his sight, and we are totally dependent on his grace.
What is grace? Well, I think of it this way. Mercy is God’s willingness to commute the sentence we deserve for our sins. God extends his mercy to us and says, “Because of Jesus, I can let you off the hook. You don’t have to serve your time.” That’s mercy.
Grace is something more. It is as though the Judge who has commuted our sentence now goes on to say that in addition, he wants to bestow on us all of his wealth, his love, his care, his provision. In marvelous grace he says, “I will take you right where you are, and I will be your Father and personally take responsibility for your care.”
Why would he do that? I have no explanation for his grace; it is a gift and it comes from his heart of love which is beyond anything that I can truly comprehend. He is love and he is gracious, and so he continues to extend himself to us and take us right where we are.
However, it must be pointed out that once we go to God as we are, we can’t stay where we are if we’re going to be normal, healthy Christians. Immature behavior is expected and normal for a two-year-old, but at nine and ten years old, that same behavior would be very troublesome and cause great concern.
The Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13 that when we were children, we talked and thought and reasoned like children. But as we become mature, we put childish ways behind us. Peter says as babes in Christ, we should desire pure spiritual milk, so that by it we may grow up in our salvation (1 Peter 2:2).
So, spiritual growth is a sign of normalcy. Can you look back over the past months, the past year, and identify some specific areas of spiritual growth in your life? A healthy Christian can do that. Just as we measure our children’s growth year by year, there should be marks in our life which define our spiritual growth pattern.
How about it? Can you identify some clear notches in your spiritual growth, such as an increased commitment to Bible study, a deeper concern and compassion for other people, less time spent on yourself and more on others, more time in prayer – just to mention a few? When we’re growing normally, the marks will be evident.
We also need to remember that when we see other Christians who aren’t quite measuring up, God’s not finished with them yet either. When we realize how graciously God takes us where we are, it frees us up to do the same thing for others. The more we understand the incredible truth that we are accepted by Christ without condemnation, the less we will condemn and judge others.
I just wanted to encourage you with a simple reminder that has encouraged me lately: God takes us right where we are. You don’t have to get cleaned up or pass any kind of entrance exam in order to come to the Lord. Just openly and honestly tell him where you are—he knows anyway—and pour out your heart to him. Even though you know you should be doing better than you are, tell him exactly where you are and how you feel. Then allow him to change you. He’s waiting with open arms for you just like you are. Amen to that!