Come As You Are

“Peter said to Him, ‘You shall never wash my feet.’ Jesus answered him, ‘If I do not wash you, you have no share with Me.’"—John 13:8

When Jesus calls us to Himself, He calls us as we are. He doesn’t call us as we want to be, or how we should be, we come to Him broken and dirty. On Jesus’ last night on earth, He dined with His disciples. It was after the meal that He got up, removed His outer garments, took a towel and tied it around His waist. He poured water into a basin and began washing His disciples feet with the towel. Coming to Simon Peter, He was confronted with, “You shall never wash my feet.” What did Jesus say in response? He said, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with Me.”

What did He mean? He meant that if Peter wasn’t willing to let Jesus wash the dirtiest part of him, then he had no business being with Him. Jesus wants us entirely. He doesn’t want just a part of us, or what we decide to give. He says to us, “If you aren’t willing to give Me all of your dirt, all of your brokenness, all of your sin, then you have no part with Me.” God wants us as we are—and then He will transform us.

Knowing Christ is a bit like getting married. When you get married, you don’t partly go into marriage. You enter entirely into it. Your spouse wants all of you, not just a part. And it’s true even more so with Jesus. He wants us as we are, keeping nothing back, laying everything at His feet.

Have you given Christ everything? What are you keeping back? Are you holding on or hiding some sin that you are not willing to give? Jesus wants everything, anything less fails to understand who He is, what He has done, and the life He calls us to in Him. God Himself is the Gospel, the good news, and it is our duty to embrace it with all of our being.

May God enable us to come to Him as we truly are, without hiding or holding back. And may He wash us thoroughly and completely, transforming us into the person He desires us to be. Amen.