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Every once in a while, you have a conversation that you simply know will stick with you. I had one of those recently as I was talking with someone who has walked through much difficulty over the course of the last few months. Some of that difficulty was beyond the person’s control, but much of the hardship had been self-induced (can’t you relate?). And to the person’s own admission, the presence of sin was evident. 

After a few minutes of talking, I asked a question. "If Jesus was physically in this room with us, what do you think He would say to you first?"

Response: “He’d probably tell me I can change with His help.” 

Change. No doubt, a correct answer. An answer many of us would give when it comes to our own sinful plights. We see our need for change, and we even want change. However, I don’t think it would be the first thing Jesus would say. Before there was any talk from our Savior of change, there’d be talk of coming. 

Here’s what I mean. In Matthew 11:28, we gain insight into the very heart of Jesus who says, “Come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” He’s talking to sin-ridden people, to those weighed down by life. He’s talking to those who have brought self-induced difficulty upon themselves. And what does He tell them? Come to me. 

Really? No call to change first, to get my act together? Perhaps this is striking to you - it should be. But if you saw someone drowning, wouldn’t it be silly to ask them to work on their backstroke? Silly, indeed! You’d want them to put their weight on the life preserver before any sort of stroke technique was offered. So too, in our walks with Jesus. Before any change happens, we must come. 

But isn’t this just a little too good to be true? It feels that way. Why? Well, we know our shortcomings, our failures, and the pervasiveness of our sin. Even as believers, we know that we have areas in our life where change still needs to happen. And we would love it if our sins were merely past sins, but we know it’s not merely the past but the present, lingering ones. We can quickly think that we will be the ones who wear thin Jesus’ patience, who finally frustrate Him into a deep state of disappointment. And yet, the Jesus we meet in the Bible is all too gracious, all too gentle and merciful for our hearts to even fully comprehend. 

So Christian… Let this be a reminder. Come to Him. “Coming” is another way to say open yourself up to Him, go to Him in prayer, go to Him in the Word. Are you weary from your sin? Go to Him. Are you weighed down with the life you have been given? Go to Him. Do you think you’ve finally reached the end of God’s patience? You haven’t - go to Him. 

The grace of God knows no bounds, and goes far deeper than we could imagine. The goal of the Christian life is not first about changing. Make no doubt about it, any who go to Jesus will be changed, but you won’t change until you first come. The goal of the Christian life is about coming, about coming time and time again to the One who has shed His precious blood (1 Pet. 1:19). It’s about coming to the One who bore the wrath for weary sinners (1 John 2:1-2). Once you come to Him, never stop. For we know, whoever comes, He will never cast out (John 6:37). 

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