Suit Up!

(Many of you will recognize that line from the show "How I Met Your Mother." To be honest, I am also a big fan of the show and love watching it.)

I have this habit of dressing up when I go to church. Yes, I do "suit up!" The reasoning behind the suit to church is because for me personally, it's a symbol of respect for the House of God. My logic is that if I'm going to go "meet" God in His house, I should dress up out of respect for Him and give Him my best, even though a lot of times, my best isn't really all that great. I don't have a problem with people who think otherwise, it's just the way I see things.

Recently, a pastor at a church put this thought in my mind that has been bouncing around. Why do some believers feel like they have to figuratively put on a suit, shave, clean themselves up, and have their lives together in order to approach God? Why does it feel like in order to even just attend church, we have to be able to say that life is "all good" and that God's been blessing us so much (even though that is true all of the time, even in the storms)?

Yet in the Gospel, there are so many instances when Jesus would go to people and minister to them when their life was absolutely wrecked. Think of the demon-possessed man in Luke 8; how messed up he looked to the rest of society! He was filthy and dirty and none wanted to approach him because he was so obviously in a mess! Yet Jesus approached him, rebukes the demon and the man is healed and he immediately gives his testimony, of what Jesus has done for him!

And the leper in Luke 5 is another beautiful example. Back in those days, having leprosy was considered very unclean. Lepers had to shout "Unclean!" over and over as they walked through streets so that people could purposefully avoid them by walking all the way around them! They were complete outcasts because touching a leper would make you unclean as well! And yet when the leper in Luke 5 sees Jesus, the Son of God, walking towards him, he falls on his face (how the NKJV translates it) and says "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean (NKJV)!

Now, you have to keep in mind that Jesus was not walking by Himself. He has His disciples with Him, and the disciples were well aware of the social stigmas and traditions of that society. I can imagine that they saw the leper and heard him shouting "Unclean!" and moved to the side of the street to avoid him while their Rabbi walked straight at him! Imagine the horror on their faces as they saw their Rabbi interacting with this "unclean" leper! And remember, the goal of the talmidim (the disciples) is not just to know what the teacher knows, but to be what the Rabbi is. That means they were supposed to be up close and personal with this leper as well!

Jesus then does what ancient Jewish society would say is unthinkable. "Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed” (Luke 5:13 NKJV). Notice that Jesus touched the leper! According to Jewish custom, that made Jesus ceremonially unclean! But the story goes on to tell how the holiness and power of God the Son vanquished the uncleanliness and made the man clean.

My friends, the point is that when approaching Jesus there's no reason to try to put away the shame and guilt, to try to clean up your sins. God sees them anyway and He forgives you for them! All you have to do is go to Him and have faith. It doesn't matter how messed up your life seemingly is. He will accept you anyways, for you have been created in His image and He loves you.