If God required us to be perfect, then no one—absolutely no one—would ever be able to be a Christian! We’re all sinners, and no matter how hard we try, we still sin and fall short of God’s standard. If this weren’t true, why would Jesus tell us to pray, “Forgive us our sins” (Luke 11:4)?

One of the Bible’s greatest truths is that God welcomes us just as we are. He knows all about us; He knows our failures and our sins, and He knows too the tendency we have to do wrong. But God still loves us, and He wants to forgive us and welcome us into His family—and He will, as we repent of our sins and turn in faith to Christ for our salvation. Because of Christ, the Bible says, “we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:14).

Does this mean we can live any way we want to after we give our lives to Christ? No, of course not, but if we’ve truly committed our lives to Him, we won’t want to live that way! Instead, we’ll want to live for Him and follow Him, because we now belong to Him.

Be thankful for your friend’s concern for you. But most of all, be thankful for Christ’s concern for you—a concern so great that He was willing to go to the cross and die for you. Don’t turn away from Christ, but accept the free gift of salvation He offers you, by inviting Him to come into your life today.

Do you want to know Jesus?