Doxologies: Come As You Are
“Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
The first time I heard Come As You Are by David Crowder was after I had been asked to lead worship at a friend’s church. They requested the song, and as I listened to it for the first time, I was immediately seized by the first two lines:
Come out of sadness, from wherever you’ve been
Come, broken hearted, let rescue begin
I was hooked. Not because the melody is beautiful (it is) and not because the arrangement is powerful (it is). I was hooked because of the simple but profound message of the song: Come as you are.
As someone who loves to share my faith, this message is one of the most important messages anyone could ever share. We all know—because we’ve seen, heard or experienced it first hand—how often folks feel disqualified from ever entering God’s kingdom. They’ll have a list of reasons, but likely most of these folks aren’t familiar with:
- The rest and easy yoke offered by Jesus in Matthew 11:28-30
- The gentle, restorative hand of the Good Shepherd from Psalm 23
- One small but vital word in John 1:11-12 – ALL: “He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God” (emphasis added).
These are just a few of countless other passages that make it clear that qualification, purification comes from Jesus AFTER we accept Him. It does not come from us BEFORE we approach Him. Jesus qualifies the unqualified. He knows the sin that clings to us as we approach, but like the father in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), God’s love for YOU is so great that He runs to you and throws a celebration in your name when you come to Him, baggage and all. Why would He do that? Those answers become clear in time, but all you need to know today, beloved, is that He already loves you. You don’t need to get yourself together, clean yourself up or try to earn His love. So as the song says, come out of sadness, from wherever you’ve been. The Savior is ready for you: Come as you are.
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Come As You Are
Come out of sadness From wherever you've been Come broken hearted Let rescue begin Come find your mercy Oh sinner come kneel Earth has no sorrow That heaven can't heal Earth has no sorrow That heaven can't heal So lay down your burdens Lay down your shame All who are broken Lift up your face Oh wanderer come home You're not too far So lay down your hurt Lay down your heart Come as you are There's hope for the hopeless And all those who've strayed Come sit at the table Come taste the grace There's rest for the weary Rest that endures Earth has no sorrow That heaven can't cure So lay down your burdens Lay down your shame All who are broken Lift up your face Oh wanderer come home You're not too far So lay down your hurt Lay down your heart Come as you are Come as you are Fall in his arms Come as you are There's joy for the morning Oh sinner be still Earth has no sorrow That heaven can't heal Earth has no sorrow That heaven can't heal So lay down your burdens Lay down your shame All who are broken