Come as you are – But don’t sit in my seat
The feeling of shame comes first as you hear the words, “You’re sitting in my seat.”
Followed by the frosty glare that bores down into your very soul
The kindly lady, who reeks of tweed and leather armchairs
Won’t budge an inch until you get up and find somewhere else to sit
The ‘come as you are’ mantra that is spread around most Churches
Seems to vanish into thin air, as the person who’s ‘seat’ you’ve recklessly occupied
Has the intimidation tactics of the 9 foot giant, Goliath, found in 1 Samuel 17
And while you’re searching for the five, smooth stones in your handbag
You realise that you can’t just come as you are, heavens no
You must jump through the invisible hoops that are held up as high as their standards
Before you can even think about ‘coming as you are’
I know people who claim to love Jesus with all their hearts, but confess to me that they get really ticked off because someone –hold the phone – sits in their regular spot along the pew
Hello?
Can the real Christian please stand up?
Oh, you’re already standing up – of course, you’ve just had to move seats 😉
COME AS YOU ARE
Enter Jesus
He was labelled, the friend of sinners
‘…And the people said, “This man is a glutton! He’s a drunk! And He hangs around with tax collectors and sinners, to boot.” Matthew 12:19
Considered to have lost His mind by His own family
‘When Jesus’ family heard about this craziness, they went to drag Him out of that place.“Jesus has lost His mind.” Mark 3:20
And helped ‘unclean’ people by touching and healing them
‘Lord, if You wish to, You can heal me of my disease. Jesus reaches out His hand and touches the man, something no one would normally do for fear of being infected or of becoming ritually unclean’ Luke 5:12-13
Not someone who deserves to sit in Mrs tweed – wearing seat, that’s for sure!
But the more we worry and fuss about who sits in what seat
The more Jesus is squeezed out
Come as you are, is a statement which needs to be lived out, in and out of Church life
No matter what
And I don’t care what seat you sit in
You are welcome here
To
Come as you are
Wendy xo
