Come As You Are

Last weekend, I went back home to see my family and celebrate a family friend’s birthday. Then on Sunday, we went to the 11 a.m. Flatirons church service at their main location in Lafayette. For those of you that don’t know, Flatirons is, well, it’s an experience. For starters it is massive; there are thousands of people who attend every single service, and that doesn’t include their other campuses or their online viewers. You never know what to expect at a service. Last Christmas Eve, pastor Jim held a lamb and at another service he wore a harness and ‘fell’ about twenty feet. And the music makes you feel like you’re jamming out at rock concert (don’t worry, they do provide ear plugs!). Sometimes they play today’s popular Christian music, and other times they play songs they’ve written, and they also play variety of other things, such as Imagine Dragons, and Nirvana (also if you ever go, be sure to watch their violinist, he gets so amped and it’s amazing!). Last weekend they played ‘Come As You Are’ by Nirvana, and believe it or not, it was quite fitting.

The pastor who spoke that weekend was Ben, and he’s newer (and way less bald!) than the other ones, but he did a phenomenal job, which is why I am writing about this. I am also going to include the link to a video of the service, because I will definitely fail to give it justice. First he told the fairly well-known story about the time Jesus brought a man named Lazarus back to life. Here is the story, John 11:17 – 44.

 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.  Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother.  When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.  But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

 After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.”  When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him.  Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him.  When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.

 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.  “Where have you laid him?” he asked.

“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.

Jesus wept.

 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”

 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said.

“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”

 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”

 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.  I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”

 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”  The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

So my takeaway from this story has always been that it’s just one of Jesus’ many miracles and that this is foreshadowing of His own resurrection, which is true, but Ben gave additional insight. He talked about how when Jesus arrived to the village, Martha and Mary were essentially telling Him that it was too late; Lazarus was already dead, and had been dead for a few days. Jesus wanted to roll away the stone but Martha objected because of the odor, and because of the additional heartache that would follow. But Jesus insisted, and He brought the man back to life and told him to take off his grave clothes.

We all have parts of our lives that we think are dead and just like in the story, we try to cover our tombs with a stone and move on. But that’s not how it works. If Jesus can bring a dead man back to life then He can certainly bring life back to whatever you’ve given up on, whether it’s an addiction, financial hardship, relationship issues, etc. It is never too late, and we shouldn’t have to cover up all of our problems and insecurities and pretend like everything is fine all the time. Especially in front of God; He already knows what’s going on anyway. It’s common for churches to begin by praying that everyone can leave their baggage at the door, which is a way of praying that people focus on the message and don’t get distracted. But the wording is all wrong. Church is a place to bring our baggage to God, to find comfort, and find support and fellowship from others.

That is why, Ben explains, Flatirons believes in loving and accepting people for who they are, happy, sad, broken, lost, etc. Authenticity is essential. That’s why the band played the Nirvana song. Because when going to church, or going to God, you should Come As You Are. What made this message so powerful to me, is that it’s not the first time I have heard this expression. The first time I heard the words ‘Come As You Are’ was in August of 2016 and it was life-changing.

I was nervous as I walked into Johnson Hall 222 at CSU on Thursday night at 7:30. I had a friend with me, but still, checking out some new campus ministry called ‘Cru’ that’s full of people you’ve never met and trying to rekindle your broken relationship with God, while feeling broken, is a bit intimidating. But everyone seemed friendly enough and then we all sat at some tables as a video played. Repeatedly, the phrase ‘Come As You Are,’ was said. And so I did. I kept coming back, as I was. Over time, what I was continued to change for the better as my relationship with God flourished and I began to make friends as I continued attending the weekly meetings and Bible Studies.

Today, I am still broken, but then again, we all are. But God is always there to love me despite my brokenness, and to remind me that it’s never too late for Him. ‘Come As You Are’ is the Cru mantra, and it’s reassuring to know that it is used at a church that so many people I know attend. So check out Flatirons church, and if you’re in college, be sure to check out Cru. And always remember to Come As You Are.

For those who are interested, here is the link to the full service from pastor Ben last weekend: http://flatironschurch.com/fi-messages/here-for-you-week-2/

Additional note; I realize I have not been doing a good job at the whole posting weekly thing, sorry about that. I’ll try to write more than I have been lately but I am making know promises, so instead of saying I’ll post every Saturday, I’m just going to post when I feel like it. Very organized and professional, I know!

If you’re intrigued by this post and looking forward to what I’ll write about in the future, you can expect a new post at some point in the future. Also, if you feel inclined, feel free to leave a comment below about what you think. Thanks for all your support and I hope you’ll come back the next time I post. Stay Amazing!