A prayer to be welcomed by Jesus as we are, without contempt for anyone

“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repent ”. Luke 5: 31-32 We need Jesus because we are sinners. This is not limited to small "easy to repair" sins. This applies to all sins. We put so much pressure on ourselves, but the truth is we need Christ. We need him because we absolutely cannot live as we are called to live alone. We should not despise people lost for sinning. This is the most hypocritical thing we could do. We can never forget that we too were once lost. We too were once drowning in our own sin. And I don't know about you, but I still struggle to keep my head above the water every day. We are destroyed; we are sinners. Jesus enters and changes the situation. If we had the ability to change it ourselves, we wouldn't need it. He shouldn't have died on the cross. None of this is necessary if we can "fix" ourselves. The wonderful thing about Jesus is that something fundamental changes within us. It is a change that cannot be described in words, it can only be experienced. You don't have to change for Jesus. It is He who changes you. Even those of us who have accepted Christ are not perfect. We have to cut each other - and ourselves - some slack. We need to recognize that, yes, we have to live by a certain standard to be Christian, but that Jesus is about forgiveness first. He forgives us before he changes us, and then continues to forgive us again and again.

We must remember that we are only human. We must remember why we need Jesus; because his sacrifice was necessary. We must remember that true change of heart requires supernatural intervention, not human intervention. We need to remember not to put things in the wrong order. Jesus first. Accepting Christ is the first and most important step. The change will begin after someone accepts it in their heart. Hope this encourages you when you get it wrong. We're about to fall. We shouldn't rub each other in dirt or walk while we look fiercely. We should go down and help each other. We pray for the grace we need to get up after falling. Prayer: Lord, thank you that you are the one who can change me. Thanks that I don't have to change myself. Thanks for dying so that you can have life. Help us not to judge others in sin, but to treat them with love and compassion. Help us come to you as we are: broken, imperfect, but fully alive and healed by the power of your blood on the cross. Thanks Jesus! The gospel is such good news. Help me live with it every day. Amen.