God made you and wants you alive so he can love you and so you can love him back.

God didn’t just say he loved you; he demonstrated it. The Bible says, “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8 NLT). It says he did this while we were still sinners. Before I even knew God or knew I needed God in my life, Jesus died for me.

There’s a myth that says I’ve got to clean up my act before I can come to God: “I have to get it all together. There are a few things I need to get right in my life first, and then I’ll come to God.” No! You come to God with your problems—the good, the bad, and the ugly.

It’s like when we brush our teeth before we go to the dentist to have a teeth cleaning or when we wash the dishes before we put them in the dishwasher or when we pick up the house before the housecleaner gets there. Why do we do this?

God says, “No, no! You don’t have to clean up your act. Just bring it all to me. Bring me all your problems. I have all the answers. Come as you are.”

If you don’t act on this news, then the death of Jesus Christ and his Resurrection are wasted for you personally. It makes no difference in your life. You may recognize the gift, but you still have to receive it.

“You will be saved, if you honestly say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and if you believe with all your heart that God raised him from death. God will accept you and save you, if you truly believe this and tell it to others” (Romans 10:9-10 CEV).

God is not asking you to make a promise you cannot keep. God is asking you to believe a promise that only he can keep.