Just As I Am

 Just as I am, without one plea

But that thy blood was shed for me

And that thou bidst me come to thee

O lamb of God I come, I come

~Just As I Am, Charlotte Elliott~ 

Growing up, I remember watching the crusade broadcasts of the late Reverend Billy Graham.  His fiery sermons, although they spoke to what I now see as the church narrative, seemed to speak to my heart each time I watched.  Without fail, at the end of each broadcast when the reverend would call people forward to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, my mother would began singing with the hymm "Just as I am."  I look back on these moments now as they were my very first introduction to coming to know Jesus as my Lord.  In fact, in times of trouble I still find myself remembering the words my mother would sing and singing them to myself.  But that thy blood...was shed for me.  O lamb of God I come.  I found myself wondering the other day just how my idea of Jesus has changed over time.  Don't get me wrong, I still know Him as my Lord and Savior, but in a more intimate way.  I've wondered if the late reverend Graham could ever see Christ in the way that I now see Him.  In other words, the "Just as I am" from all those years ago has morphed into the "Just as I am" that I see myself as today.  indeed, some of you might be scratching your heads and wondering, 'what are you talking about, Scott?'  Well, anyone who has read my pages before might be well aware of how I see Christ Jesus.  I do not adhere to the mainstream church view of Jesus which used to permeate the sermons of Billy Graham.  Don't get me wrong, his sermons were very powerful and he led many to knowing Jesus...including me.  Yet, look at the third verse of the iconic hymm and you will see just where it is I differ.  And that thou bidst me come to thee.  Depending on your understanding of Jesus, you probably grew up being taught that Chist was separate from you.  That you were here on earth struggling in the Christian life while Jesus stood by in heaven.  Well, that's a good story which the mainstream church has been peddling for years.  Yet, what if I were to tell you that Jesus is not asking you to come to Him...but to KNOW Him?  

"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

Galatians 2: 20 NKJV 

I cannot imagine that reverend Graham spent his entire life scrolling through the scriptures and never coming across the words of the apostle Paul.  For it is Paul who introduced me to the Jesus I now know.  It is Paul who speaks to the revelation of Christ Jesus in us {Galatians 2:20}.  Yet, mainstream Christian teachings seem to bypass this truth.  So, am I disillusioned for believing that Jesus could live in such a sinner as me?  Perhaps, but then why did He give His life on that cross to cleanse me of the very sin I should be worried about?  If you ask me, we've resorted to cherry picking scriptures to back up a theology which is thousand of years old.  But, that's a topic for another day.  We're told that Jesus was revealed to the man Saul on the road to Damascus {Galatians 1:15-16}.  You will notice that this revelation came to Saul "When it pleased God" {Galatians 1:15}.  This is the very same revelation of Christ Jesus in me which I have experienced in my own life.  In a matter of speaking, I did come to Jesus all those years ago.  Of course, the Jesus I accepted had been there all along waiting for me to realize who I truly was.  I still find myself singing that old hymm whenever the difficulties of life come knocking on my door.  However, it's more for my own comfort now, as I already know who I am.  

Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

Hebrews 1: 3 NKJV