“At just the right time when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6, NIV).

     Sometimes we make life harder than need be. I once met a young woman named Julie who struggled over her relationship with God. She hadn’t been to worship in several months. When I inquired as to her reasons she replied, “God would never accept me the way I am. I need to get my life together before I can approach Him.”

     I realize that some things are too good to be true. Yet, Paul used the term “justification” to describe the truth of our relationship with God. “At just the right time,” said Paul, “when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6, NIV).

     In summary, we are justified, not by anything we have done or can do. We are saved by what God has done for us through Jesus. It is just-if-I’d never sinned.

     I consider myself to be a fairly good angler. I’ve caught my fair share of fish. I can assure you that fish do not come out of the water already cleaned. Fish don’t “get their act together” before they are pulled into the boat. Fish are caught “as is.” The same principle is true of our relationship with God.

So, to all the Julie’s of this world I wish to say: God already has made peace with you through Christ. Before you can even come before God, God accepts you as you are. This is the heart of Charlotte Elliott’s special hymn: