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Come Just as You Are, May 7
Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then
may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.
Jeremiah 13:23
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God does not regard all sins as of equal magnitude; there are degrees
of guilt in His estimation, as well as in that of man; but however trifling
this or that wrong act may seem in the eyes of men, no sin is small
in the sight of God. Man’s judgment is partial, imperfect; but God
estimates all things as they really are. The drunkard is despised, and is
told that his sin will exclude him from heaven; while pride, selfishness,
and covetousness too often go unrebuked. But these are sins that are
especially offensive to God; for they are contrary to the benevolence of
His character, to that unselfish love which is the very atmosphere of the
unfallen universe. He who falls into some of the grosser sins may feel
a sense of his shame and poverty and his need of the grace of Christ;
but pride feels no need, and so it closes the heart against Christ, and the
infinite blessings He came to give....
If you see your sinfulness, do not wait to make yourself better. How
many there are who think they are not good enough to come to Christ.
Do you expect to become better through your own efforts? ... There
is help for us only in God. We must not wait for stronger persuasions,
for better opportunities, or for holier tempers. We can do nothing for
ourselves. We must come to Christ just as we are.
Yield yourself to Christ without delay; He alone, by the power of
His grace, can redeem you from ruin. He alone can bring your moral
and mental powers into a state of health. Your heart may be warm with
the love of God; your understanding, clear and mature; your conscience,
illuminated, quick, and pure; your will, upright and sanctified, subject
to the control of the Spirit of God. You can make yourself what you
choose. If you will now face rightabout, cease to do evil and learn to
do well, then you will be happy indeed; you will be successful in the
battles of life, and rise to glory and honor in the better life than this.
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