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Come As
You Are. No Jacket Required.
"For by grace are ye saved
through faith: and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of
God: not of works, lest any
man should boast."
I shook my head in disbelief.
This couldn't be the right
place. After all, I couldn't
possibly be welcome here. I
had been given an invitation
several times, by several
different people, and had
finally decided to see what
this place was all about. But,
this just couldn't be the
right place. Quickly, I
glanced down at the invitation
that I clutched in my hand. I
scanned past the words, "Come
as you are. No jacket
required," and found the
location.
Yes, I was at the right place.
I peered through the window
again and saw a room of people
whose faces seemed to glow
with joy. All were neatly
dressed, adorned in fine
garments and appeared
strangely clean as they dined
at this exquisite restaurant.
Ashamed, I looked down at my
own tattered and torn
clothing, covered in stains. I
was dirty, in fact, filthy. A
foul smell seemed to consume
me and I couldn't shake the
grime that clung to my body.
As I turned around to leave,
the words from the invitation
seemed to leap out at me,
"Come as you are. No jacket
required."
I decided to give it a shot.
Mustering up every bit of
courage I could find, I opened
the door to this restaurant
and walked up to a man
standing behind a podium.
"Your name, sir?" he asked me
with a smile. "Jimmy D.
Brown," I mumbled without
looking up. I thrust my hands
deep into my pockets, hoping
to conceal their stains. He
didn't seem to notice the
filth that I was covered in
and he continued, "Very good,
sir. A table is reserved in
your name. Would you like to
be seated?" I couldn't believe
what I heard! A grin broke out
on my face and I said, "Yes,
of course!"
He lead me to a table and,
sure enough, there was a
placard with my name written
on it in a deep, dark red. As
I browsed over a menu, I saw
many delightful items listed.
There were things like,
"peace," "joy," "blessings,"
"confidence," "assurance,"
"hope," "love," "faith," and
"mercy." I realized that this
was no ordinary restaurant! I
flipped the menu back to
the front in order to see
where I was at. "God's Grace,"
was the name of this place!
The man returned and said, "I
recommend the 'Special of the
Day.' With it, you are
entitled to heaping portions
of everything on this menu."
You've got to be kidding! I
thought to myself.
You mean, I can have ALL of
this! "What is the 'Special of
the Day,' I asked with
excitement ringing in my
voice. "Salvation," was his
reply. "I'll take it," I
practically cried out.
Then, as quickly as I made
that statement, the joy left
my body. A sick, painful ache
jerked through my stomach and
tears filled my eyes. Between
my sobs I said, "Mister, look
at me. I'm dirty and nasty.
I'm unclean and unworthy of
such things. I'd love to have
all of this, but, but, I just
can't afford it."
Undaunted, the man smiled
again. "Sir, your check has
already been taken care of by
that Gentleman over there," he
said pointing to the front of
the room. "His Name is Jesus."
Turning, I saw a man whose
very presence seemed to light
the room. He was almost too
much to look at. I found
myself walking towards Him and
in shaking voice I whispered,
"Sir, I'll wash the dishes or
sweep the floors or take out
the trash. I'll do anything I
can do to repay you for all of
this." He opened His arms and
said with a smile, "Son, all
of this is yours if you just
come unto Me. Ask Me to clean
you up and I will. Ask Me to
take away the stains and it is
done. Ask Me to allow you to
feast at My table and you will
eat. Remember, the table is
reserved in your name. All you
must do is accept this gift
that I offer you."
Astonished, I fell at His feet
and said, "Please, Jesus.
Please clean up my life.
Please change me and seat me
at Your table and give me this
new life." Immediately, I
heard the words, "It is
finished." I looked down and
white robes adorned my squeaky
clean body. Something strange
and wonderful had happened. I
felt new, like a weight had
been lifted, and I found
myself seated at His table.
"The 'Special of the Day' has
been served," the Lord said to
me. "Salvation is yours." We
sat and talked for a great
while and I so enjoyed the
time that I spent with Him. He
told me, me of all people,
that He would like me to come
back as often as I liked for
another helping from God's
Grace. He made it clear that
He wanted me to spend as much
time with Him as possible. As
it drew near time for me to go
back outside into the "real
world," He whispered to me
softly, "And Lo, I am with you
always." And then, He said
something to me that I will
never forget. He said, "My
child, do you see these empty
tables
"Yes, Lord. I see them. What
do they mean?" I replied.
"These are reserved tables...
but the individuals whose
names are on each placard have
not accepted their invitations
to dine. Would you be so kind
as to hand out these
invitations to those who have
not joined us yet?" Jesus
asked. "Of course," I said
with excitement as I picked up
the invitations. "Go ye
therefore into all nations,"
He said as I turned to leave.
I walked into God's Grace
dirty and hungry. Stained in
sin. My righteousness as
filthy rags. And Jesus cleaned
me up. I walked out a brand
new man... robed in white, His
righteousness. And so, I'll
keep my promise to my Lord.
I'll go. I'll spread the Word.
I'll share the Gospel...I'll
hand out the invitations. And
I'll start with you. Have you
been to God's Grace?
There's a table reserved in
your name, and here's your
invitation...
"Come as you are. No jacket
required."
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