God Wants Your Junk!

“But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and now is found.” – Luke 15:32 (The Parable of the Lost Son)

A few days ago, I was listening to the radio and one of my favorite songs came on: “By Your Side” by Tenth Avenue North.  I have always been someone who found deeper meaning in music, and related to it on an emotional level.  As I grew in my faith, and began getting involved in music again, I came to realize what a powerful and organic form of worship it is for me.

This is a song I’ve heard a thousand times on the radio, the internet, even live and in person a few months ago…but for some reason on this particular afternoon, the lyrics really struck me.  Here’s the opening verse:

Why are you striving these days?

Why are you trying to earn grace?

Why are you crying?  Let me life up your face,

just don’t turn away.

At our Christmas Eve service, a brief video was used that demonstrated reasons folks avoid going to church.  The video had a voiceover of someone providing an excuse, and then a live shot of a person giving their retort.  The reasons ranged from the very comical – “Doesn’t church have a dress code?” with the response, “Yes – wear CLOTHES” to the more serious.  There was one particular “excuse” that reached me in the same way as the lyrics from the song:

Excuse: “I can’t go to church until I get my life together.”

            Response: “Church is how I got my life together.”

I can recall a time in my life where I was in that very pair of shoes…feeling as if I were inadequate to be in God’s presence, as if I weren’t good enough to be worshiping, as if people would stare at me, somehow knowing my deepest darkest regrets, secrets and sins.  I felt that I needed an invitation to come back to His flock, and until I’d earned that right, earned His grace, I would be better off just staying at home.  The feeling of needing to "prove" myself was always there, and it took some soul searching for me to finally get past that.

The truth is this…God knows everything - and not just the “big” stuff.  He knows how many stars are in the sky, but he also knows exactly what you had for breakfast.  Now ponder over that for a second...if God knows you had half a grapefruit and scrambled egg whites at 6:30am, then binged on two bowls of Fruity Pebbles at 10am…don’t you think He already knows about all the other junk in your life?  God knows it all.  He knows about your lies, your gossiping, your addictions, your mean thoughts.  The Big Guy knows the things that you’ve never even told a soul.  To Him, your life is an open book, and he’s read every chapter – twice.

Years ago, the thought of God knowing about all the junk I’d had in my life literally made me cringe; I felt ashamed, I felt embarrassed, and I felt unworthy.  I couldn’t imagine how God could want me anywhere near His house, in His presence, but I came back anyway because deep down I just knew something was missing from my life.  Trepidation be damned, I was joining the flock again.

And as I continued to grow in my faith life and learn more about God, I realized that everyone has junk.  And you know what?  God loves us anyway.  God loves you even though you lied to your mom about where you were last night.  God loves you even though you cheated on your SATs.  God loves you even when you just can’t stop gambling.  God loves you even though you blew this week’s paycheck on booze.  God even loves you when you call your evil cousin-in-law one of those non-Methodist words because she criticized your semi-burned brownies.

The best part?  Even though it hurts God to see his children do these things, He still wants you to come home – no permission slip or invitation required.  Know why?  Because Jesus already paid the price for us.  All you need to do is accept Him as your Savior, and ask for forgiveness (and mean it) and you’re home.  No grounding, no digging ditches, no 500 word essay…and no more tears.  No more guilt or shame; no more embarrassment, no more sadness.  No more trying to earn what has already been waiting for you.  Leave your burdens at the cross.

Now it sounds simple, but it can be difficult.  While asking for forgiveness is important, the meaning it is pivotal.  You need to recognize the bad, and turn away from it.  And it’s not usually an overnight process.  You may need help…talk to God.  Pray.  Meditate.  Be still.  And don’t be afraid to turn to others in our flock (which I now just think of as extended family) for help and support.  We are called to love each other the same way God loves us…unconditionally:

“Let us consider how to spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” – Hebrews 10:24

You are not alone with your junk.  People are messy.  We’re irresponsible, irrational, sometimes inconsiderate, and can be all around difficult sometimes.

We’re going to slip up every once in a while (or many “onces” in a while) but that’s okay.  God knows we aren’t perfect, but we do have a lot of good inside us.  And He knows that by following Him, we can continue cultivating that good stuff…continue growing in love, compassion, caring, sharing.  Then, we can spread that same love and goodness to others who may find their junk just a little too much to deal with.  Bring those lost sheep home, too.

So stop trying to get back in His good graces…you never left them.  Just start really living for Him, each and every single day.  Feel the love. :-)