You don’t have to be good and proper before you can worship God. You don’t need to clean up first, you don’t need to be at your best; you can just come as you are and Jesus will never turn you away.
Many people are under the impression that they will only come to Christ when they’ve finally pulled themselves together; when they’re good enough, holy enough, clean enough, and proper enough. My friend, that day may never come.
The human heart is at a constant deterioration. It is in our fallen nature to go from bad to worse; our New Year resolutions prove that. Only by the intervention of Christ will our depreciation be reversed. Only Christ can stop our internal decay.
A sinful woman once approached Jesus while He was having dinner at a Pharisee’s house (Luke 7: 36- 50). She didn’t come to explain her sins away. She simply dropped to her knees, poured a jar of expensive perfume on His feet, cried silently and wiped His feet with her hair. Everyone in the room knew what kind of woman she was.
In a world where everyone treats her condescendingly because of her sins, she found hope at the feet of Jesus. Yes, she was a sinner. Yes, everyone knew of her shame. Yes, she was despised and her life was a total mess. But these didn’t stop her from coming to Jesus.
Amazingly, Jesus accepted her worship, forgave her sins, and pronounced she was saved. No questions asked. No explanations necessary.
Did you notice the order of events that happened? She was a filthy sinner, she approached Christ despite her sin, Jesus had mercy on her, forgave her, and she walked free. No mention of her having to clean up her act first before coming to Jesus.
Jojo Agot 