The Lie That Keeps People Away From God

There's a lie most people believe about coming to God, and also a truth that changes everything.

You know that moment at the airport check-in counter when they put your bag on the scale, and it's over the limit?

The clerk looks at you. You look at the bag. You start doing the math in your head. What can I take out, what can I stuff into my carry-on, what can I leave behind? 

It's stressful. It's embarrassing. Also, the whole time, there's a line of people behind you watching it happen.

A lot of people treat coming to God the same way. They stand at the counter, look at all the weight they're carrying, and think: I need to sort this out before I can get on the plane. I need to clean myself up. I need to get my life together. I need to put down some of this before God would even want to deal with me.

That is one of the biggest lies out there, and I want to talk about it today.

The Weight We Were Never Meant to Carry

Here is the truth about sin: it is heavy. The weight of it, the guilt, the shame, the patterns we can't seem to break, the things we've done and the things that have been done to us, is too much to carry into eternity. That part is real. You cannot board that flight weighed down like that.

But here is what changes everything: Jesus doesn't ask you to sort the bags before you come to the counter. He steps in and takes them off you entirely. All of them. Not the ones you've already dealt with, and not the ones that are easy to let go of. All of it.

God carries all your baggage or none of it. There is no halfway with Him.

"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." - Luke 19:10

He came for the lost. Not the cleaned-up. Not the figured-out. The lost. That means He is actively looking for the person who has no idea how to fix themselves. That is who He came for.

The Lie We Keep Believing

I think one of the most damaging things a person can believe is that they need to get their life together before God would want anything to do with them. That they are too far gone. Too messy. Too much.

That lie keeps people out of the room. It tells them to wait until they are worthy, until they have stopped the habit, until they have apologized to enough people, until they feel like they deserve to show up. And so they never show up.

But God already knows. He knows everything you have done and everything you are still doing. He knows the sin you haven't told anyone about. 

He knows the version of you that you are most ashamed of. Despite that, He still wants a relationship with you. Not someday when you are better. Right now, as you are.

There is no wall between you and God. The only thing standing between Him and us is our own decision to keep holding onto the bags.

One Bad Room and One Good Guy

Here is how I think about it: Put every person who has ever lived in a room. Every single one of us has sinned. Every single one of us has fallen short. There is not one person in that room who gets to stand before God and say they made it on their own merit. Not one.

Except one. Jesus. He is the only one in that room who is actually good. And because of what He did on the cross, He offers His goodness to every single person in that room, no matter what they did to get there.

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." - Romans 3:23-24

All have sinned. All are justified freely. The same verse that levels the playing field also throws the door wide open. Nobody is too far gone. Nobody is too broken. Nobody has done too much.

It is Love, Not Laws

I also want to say this: What changes a person is not a list of rules. Rules don't transform anyone. A checklist doesn't reach the heart. 

What actually changes people, what produces lasting change, is love. Specifically, the love of a God who looked at everything you are and everything you have done and said: I still want you. I still choose you. I sent my Son for you.

When that love becomes real to you, not just something you know in your head but something you actually feel, it changes how you live. Not because you have to, but because you want to change. That is the difference between religion and relationship.

Salvation is not a program. It is not a set of steps. It is not a moral code. Salvation is a person. His name is Jesus, and He is so much better than anything this world has to offer.

It is Time to Surrender It All

If you have been standing at that check-in counter trying to sort your bags before you come to God, you can stop. You do not have to figure it out first. You do not have to clean up first. You do not have to be ready first.

Just come. Bring all of it. The heavy stuff, the embarrassing stuff, the stuff you have never said out loud. Bring it all to Him and let Him take it. That is what He is there for. That is why He came.

God will take all your baggage or none of it. It is time to surrender it all to Him.

Photo Credit: GettyImages/inewsistock

Reflect on this:

1. Have you ever felt like you needed to get your life together before God would want you? Where did that belief come from?
2. What is one bag you have been carrying that you have not fully surrendered to Him yet?
3. Is your relationship with God based on love or on a checklist? How would your life look different if it were purely love?

Joe Navarro, known online as @joechristianguy, is a Christian content creator, entrepreneur, and cultural voice passionate about making faith approachable and impactful for the next generation. With over 4.5 million combined followers across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, Joe delivers bold, Gospel-centered truth through a mix of daily encouragement, short-form teachings, comedic skits, and authentic life experiences. His unique blend of theology, humor, and clarity has created space for millions of young believers and skeptics alike to engage with Scripture and real conversations about following Jesus in a digital world. In 2023, he co-created the popular card game Discernment alongside Jacob and Julia Petersen, which is now available in major retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Museum of the Bible, and Mardel. He also holds a degree in Agricultural Economics with a minor in Sales from Texas A&M.