The “Just As I Am” Mindset

Carlos J. Craig

June 4, 2019

"For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows ALL things," 1 John 3:20 NKJV

In a world full of condemnation, criticism, censorship and chiding, people today are stressed and burdened with the constant fray of measuring up to some man-made standard and expectation that is impossible to meet. Curiously enough, these man-made requirements are so often homogenized with God’s righteous standards as being one in the same, yet nothing could be further than the truth. God reminds us in His word, “My thoughts are not your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8) Both our faith and our standing are based on truth, and absolute truth is found only and exclusively in God’s word.

There are two extremes that mitigate continually against the truth found here in 1 John 3:20. The first extreme compels the believer to live in constant guilt and fear of the rejection of God. The sensation that the divine hammer will fall at any minute crushing us beneath the blow of righteousness. This misconception leads individuals to believe that cancer is divine retribution, that divorce is poetic justice and that the loss of employment is heavenly payback for some evil deed.

The second misconception is that God’s love is sappy and dysfunctional. He understands my weaknesses and is willing to allow me to continue to wallow in my misery. Sins are not only tolerable but accepted behavior. Therefore, there is no real need for any effort on my part to overcome them. This ideology places a righteous God in a position where He Himself condones and accepts the fact that His power is not great enough to change corrupt human DNA and inherited devious behavior. Somehow the human spirit is unalterable by an all-powerful God! Thus, people misinterpret God understanding our rebellion for God accepting our rebellion.

So, just how do we understand and cling to the “Just as I am” doctrine? Here’s the thing.  “Just as I am” is not intended to be a serial sinner’s cop-out. It is actually intended to be a strengthening, redemptive, restorative agent. How so? The apostle Paul emphatically, out of personal experience, declares in Philippians 4:13, “I can do ALL things through Christ Who STRENTHENS me.” The more you abide in Christ, the more He strengthens you, and the more He strengthens you, the more you overcome evil.

Jesus offered a simple formula for overcoming. “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out!” If you come to see the grievous nature of sin, and how when cherished it leads us to trample upon the precious grace of God, at some point we make the decision to part ways with whatever or whomever is separating us from God. The just as I am then becomes the Just as He wants me to be.

You can’t remain a spiritual fetus forever when the almighty creational power of God is just a prayer a way! It’s not about self-perfection as some would falsely proclaim, it’s about relation, associational restoration into His image. “God is greater than our heart.” Translation: He Who created your heart has the power to change your heart, if you so desire to submit to the scalpel of His written and spoken word. It’s a procedure well worth the risks!