Are you a weary sinner worn down by your idolatrous pursuits, guilt-ridden and ashamed to return to God? God welcomes you in Christ. Are you a weary saint worn down by the trials and tribulations of life, wondering if any of your labors will bear fruit, reward, or glory for your king or whether such labor will be overshadowed by your feebleness and failings? God welcomes you in Christ.

This Sunday, we will consider this high calling in Romans 15:7,

Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

To do this, we must first consider this: How does Christ welcome us?

Weary Sinners
First, Jesus has welcomed us as we are, sinners in need of a savior. When we come to God in our weakness and need, he welcomes us as the father welcomed his prodigal son in Luke 15:17–24. We often come to God like this prodigal son came to his father. We come with a plan. Consider Luke 15:17–19,

“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.” ’

Notice the plan: (Step 1) I’ll confess, (Step 2) I’ll declare my unworthiness, (Step 3) I’ll take a demoted position and work to earn my place. The plan is heartfelt and marked with genuine humility. Yet some subtle but substantive misunderstanding of the father tinctures this plan. And so too often with us when we return to God from our wayward ways. And God in Jesus blows up our categories of restoration with his profound grace. Just consider how the father receives his returning son,

And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.

Notice, the son begins to implement his plan, and what is the father’s response? He doesn’t even acknowledge his sons attempt earn the restoration. Luke uses the key word “But” to show us the contrast in the father’s response to the son’s expectation of being treated as a servant. The son offers his spiel, but the father puts on mercy’s robe and a ring of grace.[1] The father welcomes his son home with abundant mercy, grace, and celebration. There is no time for self-flagellation when a son who was dead returns alive.

This is how Christ welcomes weary sinners. This is how Christ welcomes you. He welcomes you with staggering mercy, confounding grace, and exuberant celebration. But what’s arguably more breathtaking is the welcome weary saints receive when King Jesus returns.

Weary Saints
Second, Jesus welcomes weary saints with refreshing. Jesus offers us a parable to illustrate this in Luke 12:35–40. There, Jesus offers a parable to warn his people to remain faithful and expectant of his future return rather than being distracted by and invested in earthly things. Consider Jesus’ words,

“Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them.

The promise to the servants who are faithfully waiting their master’s return is that when the master does finally return, he greet his faithful, joyful servants happily. Then the servants will, in their joy, have their master sit as they begin to serve him. Is that the promise? No. The unexpected promise is that when the master returns and finds his servants faithfully working, he will have them sit, and he will serve them in joy. We can never outdo the hospitality of God in Jesus. The promise for you weary saint is that no matter how arduous or up and down the journey to eternity seems, no matter how long you have awaited the return of your master, if you remain faithful, he will come to you. And though you would welcome him, he will welcome you with times of refreshing.

Welcomed by God
God welcomes weary sinners and weary saints in Jesus. The promise for you weary, prodigal sinner is that if you will come to God in Jesus, he will welcome you. He will clothe you. He will adorn you. He will kill the fattened calf and celebrate you. There will be no place for guilt or demotion. The promise for you weary but faithful saint is that when Jesus returns, he will welcome you. He will wipe the sweat from your brow. He will sit you down at table. He will offer you a cool drink from the river of life. And he will set a feast before you. So if you are weary, a weary sinner or a weary saint, let the tried and true words of that great hymn by Joseph Hart be your anthem,

I will arise and go to Jesus
He will embrace me in His arms
In the arms of my dear Savior
Oh, there are ten thousand charms (Joesph Hart, “Come Ye Sinners” [1759])

This is your king, the one who welcomes you with ten thousand charms. Come weary sinner. Come weary saint. You are welcomed by God.

[1] “mercy’s robe” and “a ring of grace” are lyrics found in “The Prodigal” by Sovereign Grace Music. Music and words by Meghan Baird and Ryan Baird. © 2009 Sovereign Grace Worship/ASCAP (adm. by Integrity Music). Sovereign Grace Music, a division of Sovereign Grace Churches. All rights reserved.