The Community of Christ

Someone shared with me their excitement about being part of a “come as you are” church recently, and describing their church that way caught my attention. Of all the things that could have been said, “We read the Bible,” “We honor God,” or “We love one another,” it was the idea that you can come as you are which they were most drawn to.

What is it about the idea that you can “come as you are” that causes us to put our defenses down and go on in? It seems that at the heart of that statement is the absence of judgment. When people feel welcomed in spite of their faults, bonds can be built not on the basis of performance but of commonality – Jesus.

Since the beginning of the church this has been an appealing and dividing concept. One of the apostle’s biggest conflicts to resolve was the issue of circumcision before you could truly be a child of God. This required the Gentiles to become like the Jews before they would be accepted. However, the apostles were adamant that this wasn’t part of God’s plan for His family.

God invited the Israelites through Isaiah in Isaiah 1:18, “though your sins are as scarlet, and He will make them white as snow.” And the same kind of message is heard at the end of the Bible in Rev 22:17 where he gives an invitation to “Come! Let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.” The Bible is filled with verses revealing God’s mercy and grace that is extended to sinful people. But how far reaching is that statement? Since the Bible is also filled with instructions about dying to your old self and following the pattern He laid out for us to follow.

When God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, it was because He had mercy on them, not because they did anything to obligate Him to action. However, once they were safely apart from their old way of life, God gave them directions to follow on Mt. Sinai. From that point on the people understood there were things that were not “come as you are” but rather “humble yourself under the mighty hand of God…” Things like not working on the Sabbath, or not to eat certain meats; and there could be serious consequences for not conforming.

Even after the establishment of the new covenant with God’s chosen people, there was a call to abandon the old life and begin living according to a new set of standards. One place in scriptures that spells this out so clearly is found in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, “Don't you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don't fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

We USED to do those things, but something changed us. God performed a spiritual circumcision by removing the old person and giving His Spirit to us. God’s laws and commands, then, help to change our thinking to be in alignment with His, which keeps Satan from sneaking in the back door. Therefore, all of us can come to Christ exactly how we are, but we don’t want to stay in that state for long. Paul said in Romans 6:1-2, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?” There is a reason Christ’s call is appealing to the people willing to listen and believe – He has Good News about who we can be.

The invitation to be part of a community that focuses on who God is shaping all of us into, absent from a cookie cutter human standard is comforting. We are naturally drawn to a community of people that will let us be ourselves; but who we are is being replaced with a God-centered common goal, vision, and purpose. This is the power of what community offers us, a place we can call home and discover together what God wants to do in us. It’s a place that we aren’t constantly being evaluated and compared to one another, and this is seems to be the essence of that statement “come as you are.” We want to be welcomed, loved, encouraged, forgiven, and appreciated.

As we look back over the landscape of the scriptures and God’s history with His people, we can quickly see how much God wants us to long for Him, to seek Him. He is holy, He wants us to seek Him and be like Him. We seek Him because He is our father and loves us unconditionally. The Sabbath, and all the other commands from God, were to help us see the benefit of holiness. Once we realize how wonderful it is to be in the presence of a holy God, we shouldn’t want to “stay as we are.” God’s very presence inspires us to be more than what we came as. Jesus is the author of life, the living water, the great I Am, the beginning and the end, the vine that gives life. People want that, God wants them, we should want God and all that He is – holy. Therefore, the community of Christ is a place that should inspire us to rejoice in the peace that only God offers.