Have you ever known someone who refused to go to the doctor because they were feeling sick? It sounds backwards, but people do it all the time. They think, “I’ll make an appointment once this cough clears up,” or “I want to lose a few pounds before I get weighed at the clinic.”

It makes no sense. You don’t get well before you see the doctor; you go to the doctor because you’re sick.

Yet when it comes to faith, so many people do the exact same thing. They believe they have to clean up their act, scrub away their bad habits, and become completely respectable before they can bring themselves to church or pray to God.

Jesus addressed that backwards thinking directly when the religious crowd criticized Him for spending time with everyday sinners:

“On hearing this, Jesus said, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.'”

Matthew 9:12-13

Jesus didn’t come for folks who think they have it all together. He came for the wounded, the messy, and the people who know they can’t save themselves.

God isn’t impressed by outward religious performances or empty rituals when the heart is cold and proud. What He desires is for us to drop the act, admit our need, and fall into His mercy.

You don’t have to fix yourself up before you come to Jesus. You bring Him your wounds, your shortcomings, and your tired spirit, and let the Great Physician do the healing.

Are you holding back any part of your life from the Lord today, trying to fix it yourself before bringing it to Him?