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READ: MARK 2:13-17; JOHN 6:37\n\n\n\nIt\u2019s common sense that showers are for the dirty, hospitals are for the sick, and life preservers are for the drowning. So why is it so hard for some of us to accept that we don\u2019t have to fix up our lives before coming to the very One who promises to clean us, heal us, and save us?\n\n\n\nWe may resist coming to God for help because we think we\u2019re too far gone. We are correct in seeing that our sin separates us from a Holy God; we were all once totally lost in spiritual darkness (Ephesians 2:1-10).\n\n\n\nBut God didn\u2019t leave us there! Jesus Christ\u2019s death on the cross and resurrection from the dead paid for all of our sins and made the way for us to be with Him forever (Colossians 1:12-14). If we think we\u2019ve sinned too much to be forgiven, we are severely underestimating the power of God\u2019s grace and perhaps even missing the point of the gospel.\n\n\n\nSometimes those of us who know we\u2019re forgiven still struggle to come to God because we feel like we\u2019ve wandered too far. We think that since we\u2019ve been straying into different sins, or haven\u2019t been keeping up with our devotions, or haven\u2019t been praying enough\u2026that God doesn\u2019t want anything to do with us. But God always wants us to draw near to Him!\n\n\n\nI think it makes God sad when His children try to live apart from Him. He has called us to live in pursuit of Him, and once we have been redeemed by Christ, we can do so with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help. But God\u2019s love doesn\u2019t require our obedience in order to reach us (Romans 5:8). God\u2019s love has no strings attached.\n\n\n\nWhether you\u2019ve never asked God for forgiveness before, or you\u2019ve recently wandered, don\u2019t wait to come to Him. There is true forgiveness for all of us in Christ\u2019s work on the cross, and Christ promises to never cast you out (John 6:37). \u2022 Katherine Billingsley\n\n\n\n\u2022 Have you ever felt too far gone? If you know Jesus, all your sins are forgiven\u2014past, present, and future. When God looks at you, He sees His Son\u2019s perfect righteousness. And He loves you more than you could ever imagine. You can come to Him in prayer anytime, asking Him to help you draw near to Him once again. If you\u2019ve never come to Jesus, find out more on our \u201cKnow Jesus\u201d page.\n\n\n\n\u2022 In John 6:37, Jesus promises that He will never cast out those who come to Him. How can this truth comfort us when we have doubts about our salvation?\n\n\n\nWhen Jesus heard this, he told them, \u201cIt is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick. I didn\u2019t come to call the righteous, but sinners.\u201d Mark 2:17 (CSB)