Are you one of those people who love to shop at thrift stores and yard sales and bargain basement stores because you know that you will find great deals and cool things? If so, then you probably are an ‘as is’ kind of shopper. You prowl through the half price, 70% off, final sale, as is bins and come up with wonderful treasures that you take home, dust off, match up and make good as new. Unfortunately, I am not an ‘as is’ kind of shopper.
‘As is’ people see the potential in pieces of clothing and items of home décor and are able to visualize how they would look when paired with other items they already own. ‘As is’ folks are able to see beyond the wrinkles or slight defects and imagine the piece at its finest. An ‘as is’ person is not bothered by the many repairs that are needed on a fixer-upper home because they see the home’s ultimate potential.
Did you know that God is an ‘as is’ kind of God? It is true; the Bible tells us that He is. Let me show you. In Romans 5: 8 the apostle Paul reminds us that
“God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
There it is. God took us ‘as is’, while we were still sinners. Long before we recognized our need for a Savior, our ‘as is’ God looked at us in love and said, “It doesn’t matter how they come to me, as long as they come. I’ll take them ‘as is’.”
While He was on this earth, Jesus demonstrated His Father’s ‘as is’ policy in amazing ways. Gaze at the mass of devastated humanity at the pool of Bethesda, stare wide-eyed at the demon possessed people that confronted our Lord, shake your head and wonder at the forgiveness Jesus exhibited toward those who crucified Him. Despite the horrendous situations that Jesus encountered on this earth, He loved and died for every single person. His sacrifice said, “I love you–as is”, but it also said, “I want to make you better because I see the potential in you. When I pair you with my Holy Spirit you will be better than new. You will be like me! As I iron out a few of those wrinkles in your character and wash away some of the sin hidden in your heart, you will become more and more like me!”
In Isaiah 55: 1 God invited everyone to come as they were. Listen to His call.
“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.”
If that is not an ‘as is’ invitation, I’ve never heard one. God’s invitation to the Israelites, and anyone else who would listen, was to come to Him and partake of what He offered. He knew that we would not have money to buy what we needed to cover our sin, so He encouraged us to come ‘as is’ and drink freely of His provision.
I still marvel that God would love me ‘as is’. My ‘as is’ condition was pretty pathetic. Pride, idolatry, sexual sin, selfishness, filthy language and so much more made up my ‘as is’ condition, but God saw beneath all of that to what He could make me into and said, “Come! As is!”. He loves you, dear friend, AS IS!!
