I’ve always harbored a bit of a sore spot for “Just As I Am.” One of many hymns of invitation from my tradition, the song has six verses. At the end of a service, my stomach is rumbling, I’m tired, and my brain has already moved on to how I’m going to convince both of my children to nap that afternoon so that I too may get just a hint of rest. So by the time we get through verse four, this hymn is beginning to sound like more of a nuisance than an invitation. However, this all changed recently when my husband went out of town for a business trip.
My husband and I are raising two young boys. They’re five and three. Needless to say, they’re a handful. With both of us working full-time outside the home, we lean heavily upon each other to carry the parenting and household load. My husband is an amazing hands-on partner and dad, so much so that him being gone for a week was making me nervous about holding down the fort on my own.
The first day he was gone, I found myself with the first verse of “Just As I Am” stuck in my head.
Just as I am, without one plea,
But that thy blood was shed for me,
And that thou bidd’st me come to thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just As I Am
I chuckled to myself thinking of how appropriate those words felt for the moment. I had no plea of my own—I didn’t even have a partner! If I was getting through that week, it was just going to be Jesus carrying me. As the day went on, I couldn’t shake the verse from my head. I know now that the Holy Spirit held those words there for me to ponder.
The first verse of “Just As I Am” states the gospel as clearly as any hymn I’ve heard. This is part of what makes it such an effective hymn of invitation. As I sung those words over and over to myself, I heard it for the first time as an invitation not just to salvation, not just to join a church, but to Jesus himself and the rest and peace he offers, especially to worn out parents.
In parenting I can do my best to succeed. I can put our kids in the best schools. I can be at church every time the doors are open. I can make sure they attend the right camps. I can even make it look like I’m succeeding when I’m not by crafting a curated social media account of their smiling faces. However, at the bookends of my day, when I wake up groggy, barely able to get out of bed, and when I end the day more exhausted than I began, unsure if I did anything right, all of my efforts and facades fall away. It’s just Jesus and me.
Property of Mercy
If as parents we see Jesus as a far away deity, judging and shaking his head at all of our missteps, we will only feel more dejected. But, if we can trust not only the words of “Just As I Am,” but more importantly those of Jesus himself, who says “Come to me all you who are weary and I will give you rest” (Matt 11:28), then we can come to him, just as we are, and find peace in his goodness and his presence.
I’d like to leave you with a description of Jesus from the Book of Common Prayer. If you’re reading this blog, it’s likely you already know Jesus as your Lord and Savior. However, if you do not know him as “the same Lord, whose property is always to have mercy,”* I’d invite you to get to know him a little bit closer. He loves you, he is for you, and he does indeed bid you, “come.”
If you’re a weary parent in need of rest (and what parent isn’t a little tired?), we would love for you to join us at the 2023 Rooted Conference. Special one day ticket for parents available Saturday, November 4.
*Prayer of Humble Access, 1928 Book of Common Prayer
