JUST AS I AM

Scripture: Isaiah 6:1-8; Matthew 3:13-16

Text: I John 3:1

See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God…and so we are.

INTRODUCTION

Over the past 34 years, Fred Rogers, a Presbyterian minister and the visionary creator of Mister Rogers Neighborhood on television, has looked into the TV cameras with the eyes of love and concluded most every one of his programs, saying to the children of America: “You make every day special, just by being you…and I like you just the way you are.”

The overall impact and influence of those profound words and of Fred Rogers’ ministry cannot be calculated by TV ratings or the myriad of awards that his programs have received. For who could possibly assess the countless numbers of children and parents and other people whose lives have been touched and blessed by the affirmation of this truly remarkable Christian man.

Moreover, those words are biblically based and theologically sound. The first chapter of the book of Genesis reminds us that we, all of us, have been made “in the image of God…and that God call us good” at the dawn of creation (Genesis 1:26-27, 31). Toward the end of the New Testament, the first letter of John endorses that original declaration: See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God…and so we are (I John 3:1).

Now, if we take those words to heart, they reaffirm that even in the midst of our sin, going all the way back to the Garden of Eden, God has not changed His mind about us. God loves us with an everlasting love that will never let us go. And we Christians believe that is so because God revealed His love, once and for all, when He sent His Son Jesus into this world to forgive our sin, to show us how to live and to love one another and to lead us toward His Father, whom we also call our Father, in heaven.

Such is the grace of God – that we have been created in His image, forgiven for our sin, embraced by His Son, our Savior Jesus and accepted as His children. That, my friends, is the good news of the gospel, and it is the same message of love and grace which God has been sending to us down through the generations of human history.

But sad to say, far too many people living in this world today are missing that message. They are more prone toward guilt than grace, and they often look at others with the eyes of criticism and condemnation instead of the acceptance and affirmation which God has offered to us. And in most cases, that kind of an attitude begins at an early age.

Did you know that Albert Einstein was 4 years old before he could speak and 7 before he could read? His teacher told him he would always be slow. Beethoven’s first music professor said to his parents in Beethoven’s presence, “As a composer, Ludwig is hopeless.” Thomas Edison’s fifth grade science advisor told him that he was dull and might do well as a chimney sweep. And Winston Churchill, when he failed the sixth grade form at Harrow, heard his headmaster say, “Winnie will never amount to anything.” (From a speech delivered by K. Wellington, Arizona Public Service Company, at Arizona State University, November 20, 1976).

It was Dorothy Nolte who once wrote: “If a child lives with ridicule, she learns to be shy. If a child lives with shame, he learns to feel guilty. If a child lives with criticism, she learns to condemn.” And that can happen, as we grow older, carrying those negative feelings and judgmental attitudes with us into adulthood.

A middle-aged woman went to see her pastor and said, “I think I want a divorce.” The pastor was surprised. They seemed to be happy. So he after a long pause, he asked her, “But didn’t you marry him for life?” She replied, “”Yes I did, but he hasn’t shown any signs of life for the past 22 years.”

And before we know it, our negative and critical attitudes settle in for the long haul. An older couple, both hard of hearing, were sitting at the breakfast table, reading their separate sections of the morning paper and eating their prunes and bran flakes. The wife, in a moment of emotion, looked over at her husband and said, “Harry, I’m proud of you.” The husband looked back at her over the paper and said, “And I’m tired of you too.”

How different it was for Elizabeth Barrett (1806-1861), who suffered through childhood as a shy invalid because of a spinal injury and her father’s oppressive ways. She spent most of her early days as a recluse in a darkened room…until she met and married the poet Robert Browning, who adored her and helped her find the confidence she needed to become a loving wife and mother, a mountain climber and a renowned poet in her own right.

Which leads us to the rest of what Dorothy Nolte wrote:

· “If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith.

· If a child lives with approval, she learns to like herself.

· If a child lives with praise, he learns to appreciate.

· If a child lives with acceptance, she learns to find love in the world.”

Do you see the difference? From the day that we are born, on through childhood, adolescence, our adult years and into old age until the day that we die, most of us are tilted in one direction or the other. Either we learn to affirm and to accept ourselves and those around us as people who are loved and embraced as children of God…or we go through life, pointing our finger at family members and friends and just about everybody else, blaming them for what’s wrong and claiming that we, in our superior wisdom and knowledge and vast experience, know what is right.

II.

Well, there is only one person who has ever walked the face of the earth and lived a perfect life, and His name is Jesus Christ. The Bible says that He was tempted as we are, but did not fall into sin (Hebrew 4:15). And so, you might expect that as He began His ministry in this imperfect world, He would have waged a relentless campaign to root out the bad people and require everyone to be good, just like Him. But that is not what He did.

Instead, in humility, Jesus reached out to those who had lost their way. He came alongside those so-called “bad people” who were rejected by the religious leaders of His day. And rather than pointing His finger at them in self-righteous indignation, Jesus opened His arms and His heart to embrace them just as they were, and He helped them to become all that God intended them to be.

Now, if you have ever wondered how Jesus had the capacity to love and to accept people unconditionally and completely – just as they were – and just as we are today – then listen again to the words that were said by His Father from heaven on the day that He was baptized in the River Jordan: This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased (Matthew 3:17). That was the blessing which gave Jesus his identity, that was the affirmation which shaped His ministry, and those words which Jesus heard empowered Him to go forth into the world to proclaim that we, all of us, just as we are, have been accepted and loved as the children of God.

CONCLUSION

Do you believe that today? Charlotte Elliott believed it and staked her life upon it. She was born in England in 1789 and grew up to become a successful portrait artist and prolific author. But at the age of thirty, her health failed and she was confined to bed for the rest of her life.

In 1822, when Charlotte was thirty-three, a Swiss evangelist named Dr. Caesar Malan visited her home in Brighton and witnessed to her about the promises of Christ. “You must come as you are, to the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world,” he said. And she decided, at that moment, to give her life to the Lord.

In 1834, twelve years after her conversion, and still an invalid, Charlotte Elliott wrote some words which were set to a hymn that has been sung perhaps more than any other gospel song in all the world, because Billy Graham adapted it for the conclusion of each and every one of his crusades. In a moment, we’re going to sing that hymn together:

“Just as I am, without one plea

But that Thy blood was shed for me,

And that Thou biddest me come to Thee,

O Lamb of God, I come.

Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,

Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;

Because Thy promise I believe,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come!”

When I first heard those words, I was 8 years old and I went forward to commit my life to Jesus Christ at a Billy Graham Crusade in Madison Square Garden in New York City. This morning, before we sing that final hymn, we are going to commission our young people for their mission trips this summer. And as we do that, let us remember and never forget that God accepts us just as we are and calls us to become all that He wants us to be!

So it was with the prophet Isaiah long ago, who got down on his knees in worship and confessed his sin…and then rose with great expectation as God called him into action, answering, “Here am I Lord. Send me!”

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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