Taken from Nirvana's 1992 album "Nevermind" Come as You Are" is a song written by Kurt Cobain. "Come as you are" was released as the second single on the album and It was the band's second American Top 40 hit, and second UK top 10 hit. Kurt Cobain described this song as "About people, and what they're expected to act like." The lyrics are intentionally contradictory and confusing, with one line rebutting the next: "As a friend, as an old enemy" "Take your time, hurry up" Essentially the song is about life, confusion, chaos, choices, perspectives and expectations.
Come
As you are
As you were
As I want you to be
As a friend
As a friend
As an old enemy
Take your time
Hurry up
The choice is your
Don't be late
Take a rest
As a friend
As an old memoria
Memoria
Memoria
Memoria
Come
Dowsed in mud
Soaked in bleach
As I want you to be
As a trend
As a friend
As an old memoria
Memoria
Memoria
Memoria
And I swear
That I don't have a gun
No I don't have a gun
No I don't have a gun
Memoria
Memoria
Memoria {don't have a gun}
And I swear
That I don't have a gun
No I don't have a gun
No I don't have a gun
No I don't have a gun
No I don't have a gun
Memoria
Memoria
Less than three years after this song was released Cobain would commit suicide by shooting himself. A tragedy and one of Rock and Roll's casualties. In the lyrics of this song we find the verse "Come as you are, Come as you were, Come as I want you to be, come as a friend, come as an enemy" It's this that I want to focus this mornings devotion upon. If you look into the prophet Isaiah's writing you find many times he encourages God's people to come and seek for God. One of the great passages of Isaiah is Isaiah 55.
Isaiah 55:1-7 "1 “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. 2 Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labour on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. 3 Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David. 4 See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a ruler and commander of the peoples. 5 Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations you do not know will come running to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendour.” 6 Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
Here is an invitation to come to God and find restoration and life abundant. It's a promise of the old testament that God's people can come as they are for the times for seeking God is at hand. The promise is that as God's people come God will have mercy and will pardon wrong doings. There will be no anger and wrath on the return. Mercy and freedom will be given in abundance. It's a passage that has hospitality and welcome at it's heart. It's a passage that holds out for relationship. "Come as you are" in other words don't put it on, come in the truth of your situation, come not in pretence, come with your wounds. Come hungry and thirsty. It's a promise that is a wonderful promise from God in the Old Testament. We find a similar promise that has the dynamic of Isaiah 55 in the life and ministry of Jesus. In John's Gospel we find Jesus using similar words to Isaiah
John 7:37 - 44 "On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this he meant the Spirit,whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. 40 On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “He is the Messiah.” Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? 42 Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” 43 Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. 44 Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him."
"Let anyone who is thirsty come" here is the promise reiterated. For Jesus the invitation was the heart and grace of God for the moment. "Come just as you are" The same promise is true for us today. We are given the opportunity and invitation that was given to God's people of old. To come as we are - hungry, tired and weary. We are promised relationship, sustenance and care. Today may you venture to take Jesus up on his invitation and come with exactly what you are and who you are. the promise we are told is for all of us.
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