Just last Sunday, I was struck by the Celtic call to communion by George McLeod, founder of the Iona Community:
Come to this table,
not because you must but because you may,
not because you are strong, but because you are weak.
Come, not because any goodness of your own gives you a right to come,
but because you need mercy and help.
Come, because you love the Lord a little and would like to love Him more.
Come, because He loved you and gave Himself for you.
Come and meet the risen Christ, for we are His Body.
THE CALL
This simple call tells us that we are invited to come to God as we are. It isn’t a compulsion that draws us to seek God, but the gentle beckoning of God that welcomes us. It puts aside our achievements, our inadequacies, our self-seeking desires, our masks, and gives us permission to come just as we are: acknowledging that we are weak and we don’t have it all together.
God knows our weaknesses and He offers us respite in Him. Many times we try and we fail. We try again and we fail again. He knows that and He sees us. God also sees our hearts and our desire, however small it might be, to want to love Him more.
Remember that God will take the little that you give to Him and He does not despise it. You are loved and accepted. Come, because He loved you and gave Himself for you. That truth remains despite many things that change around us. Christ’s sacrifice on the cross has been accomplished and He is risen. Even in our failures, Christ receives us. Come to Him just as you are and encounter Him anew again.
Remember that God will take the little that you give to Him
and He does not despise it.
You are loved and accepted.
A STORY
When the woman charged with adultery was brought to Jesus, He had a vastly different response compared to everyone else (John 8:2–11). Instead of condemning her as the teachers of the law and the Pharisees had expected, Jesus offered forgiveness to the woman and told her to “Go now and leave your life of sin” (John 8:11). Jesus demonstrated mercy and taught the woman to live a holy life. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees saw the woman in her sin and defined her based on that, but Jesus saw her as she was — His daughter. God doesn’t just see us in our sinful moments and define us based on that. He sees us for what we can become through Christ. Our God is a merciful and kind God, slow to anger and abounding in love (Ps 86:5, 103:8, Exo 34:6).
Many times, we accuse others and ourselves in a way that Jesus would not have done. We condemn ourselves and think there is no way out for us from our sin. Jesus had a different response, yet He did not lessen the weight of sin that the woman had committed. The woman did not receive the punishment she ought to have — which was death according to the law (Lev 20:10) — instead, she received a new life that day. She was free, completely forgiven, and utterly loved.
God doesn’t just see us in our sinful moments and define us based on that.
He sees us for what we can become through Christ.
HOW DO WE RESPOND?
Perhaps some of you, like the woman, have felt judged and condemned by people around you or even by yourself. You keep trying to change, but have failed many times, and you feel too exhausted to keep trying. Or perhaps you have been living in sin but don’t know how to get out of it.
Hear the call once again:
Come to this table,
not because you must but because you may,
not because you are strong, but because you are weak.
Come, not because any goodness of your own gives you a right to come,
but because you need mercy and help.
Come, because you love the Lord a little and would like to love Him more.
Come, because He loved you and gave Himself for you.
Come and meet the risen Christ, for we are His Body.
In the same way Jesus spoke to the woman, He calls you tenderly and says, “Go now and leave your life of sin”. You have been given the ticket of freedom through Christ who gave Himself for you, overcame death, and rose to bring you life eternal. Turn away from your life of sin and walk towards God in holiness. Come to Him just as you are because He loves you.
For others, perhaps you have been on this journey with God for a long time and you feel tired. Unlike the woman in John 8, you might feel that your journey with God hasn’t been as dramatic or life-changing, and you can’t help but compare yourself with others.
Comparing yourself to others can be very tiring.
Why not stop doing that and instead, invest your time and energy in seeking out the treasures in your own journey?