Jesus doesn’t want you to be perfect, He just wants you.

Today’s post is from my lovely intern, Madison Kopfler. Check out her Instagram here to follow along.

I hit a car last Thursday.

Picture me, a sixteen year old girl who has had her license for less than a month, wearing a cheetah Halloween costume, standing outside her mom’s 2018 KIA Optima, staring with tear-stained eyes at a black SUV parked on the side of the road, which now has a brand-new dent on the side door.

And the first thing that came out of my mouth: “I can’t tell my mom.”

I was a child who had screwed up, really really badly. And I was ashamed, embarrassed, humiliated, scared— all of the above. My mind was immediately spinning with ways I could get out of this one, ways I could fix this situation without having to tell my mom I screwed up.

My mom would have to deal with the insurance company, my mom would find out if the police showed up, and my mom would definitely see the huge crack on the bumper of her car.

I was a mess, scared and confused, and I had no idea what steps to take next. I needed my mom to tell me what to do to get through this, I couldn’t get out of this one.

A week later, I’m happy to say that everything turned out to be just fine. It was the best-case scenario because nobody was in the car, nobody was hurt, and the police said the crash wasn’t worth writing up a report. 

But if I hadn’t called my mom, the outcome would have been much worse. I sometimes think of God the exact same way.

I’ve struggled for a long time with feeling like I’m not good enough for God. I struggle with feeling ashamed and guilty when I miss the mark, when I screw up, when I make a mistake.

In these moments – I tend to put on a mask, and pretend like my relationship with God is perfect. And sometimes, I find myself lying to God, as silly as it sounds, and pretending like He doesn’t know me as well as He does. Like I could somehow lie to Him and get away with it.

I try to fix myself before I go to God because I’m afraid to come to Him as I am. I’m afraid that He won’t forgive me for the mistakes I have made.

But Jesus doesn’t want us to be perfect when we go to Him. He wants us to come as we are, and He wants to love us regardless of what we’ve done and the mistakes we’ve made. He accepts us, He loves us, and He forgives us.

You do not have to fix yourself before you go to Jesus. Because, the truth is, we can’t fix ourselves. We’re human. By nature, we are imperfect, we make mistakes, and we get into trouble. But He wants to be the one to redeem any mistake we find ourselves in, the one to save us from the things this Earth throws at us.

When you make a mistake, Jesus wants nothing more than for you to come to Him. He is waiting with open arms. Isaiah 1:18 says this:

“‘Come now, let’s settle this,’ says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them white as wool.”

Isaiah 1:18 NIV

When you feel ashamed or guilty, embarrassed or scared, know that Jesus loves you despite of anything you’ve done. God wants to wash away the mistakes that haunt you, instead of you having to clean yourself up first. He doesn’t want us to come as perfect sons and daughters, He simply wants us to come as we are.

Jesus loves you regardless of anything you have done, or you will do. He is forgiving and merciful, all-knowing and graceful. And you are a precious treasure to Him. He wants to love you and He wants to love you well. Let Him. Don’t let the fear of letting Him down keep you from running to Him when you mess up.

He will never turn you away. He will never deny you His love. Just as my mom helped me out of my mistake, the Father will always welcome us with open arms, and help us out of anything. We can go to him, we can let Him love us, just as He wants to.