Come As You Are! - The One Year Devotional of Joy and Laughter
Come as You Are!
God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
Romans 5:8
On the way home from a fun New Year’s Eve gathering, my husband and I decided to pull a prank on some of our friends. About six o’clock on New Year’s Day morning, my husband got into our fifteen-seat passenger van, and I got into our car, and we went around town picking up our friends for a come-as-you-are breakfast.
The unsuspecting invitees were allowed only to put on robes and slippers. They couldn’t comb their hair, brush their teeth, put on makeup, or do anything else to enhance their “natural beauty.” Guys’ hair stuck up, women sported curlers, and many wore robes and slippers with holes in them. It looked like Fright Night at a theme park.
We lived on the eighth floor of a large apartment building. So when we herded our pajama-clad crowd into the lobby and up the elevator to our apartment early on New Year’s morning, none of the other tenants saw our friends arrive.
We cooked breakfast for everybody and had a great time with an impromptu style show. We gave prizes for the “best dressed” and played games for about three hours.
Then it was time to take everyone home. By that time the other people in our building were awake. The looks on their faces were priceless as we led our strangely garbed parade through the lobby and out to the cars. We especially enjoyed the shocked expressions of one of the elders of our church and his wife, who happened to live on the first floor of our building. It took awhile to explain that nothing sordid or weird had been happening.
Our friends have told us they don’t sleep as well on New Year’s Eve as they used to. Strange. I sleep like a baby.
Dear Father, thank you for your invitation to come to you just as we are—sinners who are lost without you. Amen.
