Come as You Are

Luke 5:27-28
27After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at this tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him, 28and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.

According to Zondervan's NIV Study Bible, Levi was another name for Matthew. Levi was a tax collector where customs were collected. Remember, Capernaum along with other cities during that time were under Roman rule. Jesus passed by Levi and only said two words, "follow me." According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, follow means 1. to go or come after 2. to proceed along <~the path> 3. to engage in a way of life. Jesus didn't ask Levi to attend to other affairs and then follow him, nor did he tell Levi to clean himself up and change his clothes and then follow him. Jesus simply meant, come as you are right now. While Levi held a huge banquet at his home filled with other tax collectors, the Pharisees looked down upon Jesus attending the banquet as tax collectors were considered low on the totem pole. But Jesus' response to them was short and to the point in Luke 5:31-32  31"It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance."  Basically, no one is righteous on their own merits. Only the blood of Jesus cleanses. But when Jesus says follow me, if we wait to "get ourselves right" to then follow Jesus, we miss the entire point of his message. Come as you are and let him fix you. If you could fix you, you would've already done it by now. You can't fix you alone. Allowing Jesus to reign in your life will cause change in you and then he'll fix the areas of your life that you thought couldn't be fixed. Do not believe the lie of the enemy that says you're not good enough to follow Jesus. Do not believe the lie of the enemy that says you're not worthy of him. Remember, Jesus choose you just like he did Levi. Let Jesus be your doctor to fix the broken areas of your heart and life.