Come, Ye Sinners, Part One

Come, ye sinners, poor and needy,
Weak and wounded, sick and sore;
Jesus ready stands to save you,
Full of pity, love and power.

The first two lines focus on humans. The second two lines focus on Jesus. We'll take the stanza in that order.

The world would immediately balk at this hymn. Our own flesh hates it. "Sinners?! I'm not a sinner (or at least not that bad of one)." Yet, we know that deep within, while God is gracious to allow us to not be as bad as we possibly could be - we are not as good as we should be. This term "sinner" shows us who we are at the core of our being. We don't just sin. We are sinners. When you realize the depth of your own depravity, you will immediately resonate with the following words, too. You are poor and needy. Yet, immediately in the first line, there's hope. "Come. . ." Someone is calling you! Someone is wanting to draw you - a poor, needy, weak, wounded, sick, sore sinner. You are one who has been wounded by the fall and also embraced the fall. Yet, there's someone who is calling.

Who is that Person?

Jesus! And, get this. Jesus isn't sitting on His throne with His arms folded. Jesus is ready, standing up - looking for you, the sinner, to come to Him. Many people might wonder how Jesus could be that way. You think, "I sin all the time in my thoughts or motives or actions." Maybe you think, "But, I've done this again." The problem is that you focus too much on you and not enough on Him. Look at the final line: "Full of pity, love and power." The word pity can sometimes sound too pathetic in our day. But, there's fullness to this word that we need to grasp. For Jesus to be full of pity is for Him to looks at our estate, and instead of walking away in contempt, He has a sorrow and compassion for us that leads Him to want to give us a better life - eternal life in God. And, that pity will never go away because his love is steadfast - always remaining the same. Oh, and just in case you want to fight back and say, "Yeah, but, I failed again." Just remember that Jesus' power keeps you, a poor-sinner-yet-simultaneously-righteous-saint, until the very end.

Look to Jesus. Savor Him today.