I once read this beautiful quote from David Crowder that I am not able to forget,
When our depravity meets His divinity, it's a beautiful collision.
I love to try to wrap my mind around that picture when I worship. When our depravity meets Jesus we get...GRACE.
...He is so good.
When we gather as the church to worship I want that. I want us to really come and meet with Jesus and not attempt to leave our baggage at the door. Jesus doesn't expect that of us. The Pharisees in the Bible always questioned Jesus when He ministered to people because He ministered to the SINNERS – the nasty, rejected, untouchable ones who were looked down upon by the teachers of the law. They questioned His authority because He was acting in a way that was against all that they taught.
The beautiful collision...
Jesus didn't ask them to clean up their act before they entered His presence. No - He ate with them, prayed with them, and even touched them in their uncleanliness, thus redeeming them, restoring them, and healing them.
In the same way, Jesus is inviting us with open arms to come to Him. He knows we aren't prefect and He knows how much we need Him. He knows we will keep messing up, but He has new mercy for us every morning. He gives grace. That means we can stop worrying about being good enough. We never will be. He is good enough! He always has been, and always will be.
When our need for a Savior collides with the King of kings who's mercies never end, we encounter incomprehensible grace.
And we're covered by it.
We get to wake up every morning and pray to a forgiving and loving God who has a good and perfect plan for our lives. As we seek Him, we are made new and our hearts are transformed. Following Him changes us.
You see, we can bring our baggage to Him, but the key is we need to leave it with Him. He died for it; so don't keep carrying it around. Don't mistake what I'm saying for the old habit of trying to live a perfect life. Christians aren't perfect, and God doesn't expect us to be. However, He does expect us to love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbors like we love ourselves. And in the middle of it all He offers healing. He will not leave you wounded. He offers healing and He gives peace that overflows into rivers of joy.
As we continually surrender to Jesus, over time we will change. What changes is the attitude and posture of our hearts. We become worshippers of Him and lift Him above everything in our lives. We do change, but it's not by our own strength. Jesus changes us through His mercy, grace, power, and love. It's a journey and it is beautiful.
...a beautiful collision.
This is your invitation to come.
It’s the invitation from Isaiah 55 that calls out,
Come all who are thirsty, come all who are weary, come all who are searching. Come find your rest. Come find your peace. Come find your healing. And come find your hope – His name is Jesus.
This is the invitation that Jesus offers us every day. Next time you are gathered with the body of believers and worshipping God together I hope that you will picture the beautiful collision that you are experiencing. The moment your depravity meets Jesus' divinity...this beautiful collision that makes us fall down in worship.
He is so good.