“Just As I Am, Without One Plea,” ELW 592
1 Just as I am, without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me, and that though bidd'st me come to thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
2 Just as I am, though tossed about with many a conflict, many a doubt, fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
3 Just as I am, thou wilt receive, wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve; because thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
4 Just as I am; thy love unknown has broken ev'ry barrier down; now to be thine, yea, thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Devotion
I find myself singing the refrain, "O Lamb of God, I come, I come," seemingly multiple times a week. When things go well, or when things don't go as well as I would like, I come back to these words that speak volumes about the promise that we have in God, who calls us back to him again, and again and again.
The wonder of this great hymn that still captures our attention is that it lifts up that perfect grace we know in Christ Jesus. This perfect grace is what we have heard all week in the readings. This is the grace that reminds us, even when we miss the mark, when we ignore the call, when we live a way that is contradictory to the promise of Christ, we can always come home—home to the Lord, the Lamb of God. Just as I am... I come. Just as you are... you come. And Christ welcomes us with open arms.
Prayer
Calling Lord, grant us courage to come home to you, just as we are, so we can be filled with you just as you are and live a life that brings those realities together in a grace-filled way. Amen.