If you were going to see Jesus, to have a meeting with the Savior of the World, what preparations would you make? Maybe you would try to get yourself all straightened out and fixed up so that, when you see Him, you could make a good first impression. We can learn a lot about what it takes to gain a face to face with Jesus just by reading the Word of God. There you find many instances of people who met Jesus.
So, what are some pointers from those who have gone before us? How do you prepare for such a meeting? This is so far above meeting anyone on earth, we are talking about the Lord Himself. As with so many spiritual truths, it ends up not being what you would naturally think. When you come into the presence of the Lord, there is only one way to approach Him: you have to come just as you are.
Come to Jesus with your need and your imperfections. Come to Jesus with your sins and shortcomings. Come to Him just as you are for He is the only One who can make you into what you were created to be. If you are waiting until you are good enough or until you are worthy to be in His presence, that time will never come. If you humble yourself before the Lord, He will lift you up. Even though the Lord loves you just as you are, He loves you too much to leave you like that.
You can’t fix yourself up enough to deserve a place in His presence, but when you come to the Lord in faith and give your life to Him just as you are, He begins to fix you up! Jesus spent time with some of the most unlikely people during His ministry (like the one who lived among the tombs — but that’s for another day!) and none of them had time to prepare for that moment when they would meet Jesus. But, it wouldn’t have mattered anyway, for there is nothing they could have done to make themselves ready. They had to come to Jesus just the way you have to come to Him; just as you are!