How long are you going to wait before you come to Christ?
Most believers know the basic story—Jesus rose from the dead, appeared to His disciples for forty days, then ascended to heaven. But what has He been doing since then, and why does it matter for your salvation?
Scripture gives us a fascinating glimpse into Christ’s post-ascension ministry using language that might seem strange at first: He ascended up on high, led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. That’s not just poetic language—that’s describing the mechanism by which you receive everything you need for salvation, including the repentance we’ve been discussing.
Think about what it means that Christ led captivity captive. He took captive those things that held us captive. Sin had enslaved humanity. Death had dominion over us. Satan had claim on fallen human beings. We were prisoners of war, held captive by forces we couldn’t overcome. But when Christ died, rose, and ascended, He conquered those captors. He led our captors away captive. He took them prisoner so we could go free.
This is why Paul could write so triumphantly about Christ disarming principalities and powers, making a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in the cross. The battle was fought, the victory was won, and the spoils belong to Christ. He conquered so completely that He now has the authority and power to give gifts to those He’s set free.
But here’s what many believers miss: Christ didn’t just win the victory and then leave you to figure out how to apply it to your life. He ascended to heaven specifically to give you what you need. The gifts He distributes aren’t optional extras for super-spiritual Christians—they’re essential provisions for every believer.
Paul explains this in Ephesians when he quotes this very passage about Christ ascending and giving gifts to men. What gifts does he mention? Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers for the equipping of the saints. But that’s just one category of gifts. Scripture describes many others—including the gift we’ve been focusing on: repentance itself.
This connects directly to what we explored in the previous devotional. You cannot produce genuine repentance on your own. You lack the power, the ability, the capacity to generate the radical transformation Scripture describes. But Christ, having conquered sin and death, having led captivity captive, having ascended to the Father’s right hand, now possesses the authority and power to give you exactly what you need.
Think about the implications. Your inability to produce repentance isn’t the end of the story—it’s the setup for Christ’s glory. Your weakness highlights His strength. Your powerlessness makes room for His power. You can’t manufacture transformation, but He can and does give it as a gift to those who come to Him.
This is what makes Christianity fundamentally different from every other religious system. Other religions tell you what you must do to earn salvation. They give you lists, requirements, standards. They say, “Do this and you’ll be accepted.” But Christianity says, “You can’t do it, and that’s okay, because Christ has done it for you and now offers to give you everything you need as a gift.”
The ascension matters because it positioned Christ to distribute these gifts. He’s not a distant deity who demands perfection from afar. He’s an active, engaged Savior who provides what He requires. He doesn’t just command repentance—He gives it. He doesn’t just demand transformation—He produces it. He doesn’t just require righteousness—He supplies it.
Peter explains that God exalted Christ to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance and forgiveness of sins. Notice that repentance and forgiveness are both gifts Christ gives from His position at the Father’s right hand. You don’t produce repentance to earn forgiveness—Christ gives you both as gifts secured by His victory.
This should radically change how you approach your Christian life. You’re not trying to work up repentance through emotional manipulation or self-effort. You’re not attempting to manufacture transformation through willpower and discipline. You’re receiving gifts from the ascended Christ who conquered your captors specifically so He could give you what you need.
But receiving gifts requires something from you: humility. You have to acknowledge you can’t produce these things yourself. You have to admit your need. You have to extend empty hands and say, “I need what only You can give.” Pride says, “I can do this myself.” Faith says, “I’m completely dependent on what Christ provides.”
This is why the gospel is simultaneously humbling and liberating. It’s humbling because it strips away any claim to self-sufficiency. You cannot save yourself. You cannot transform yourself. You cannot produce what you need for salvation. But it’s liberating because once you accept your inability, you discover Christ’s complete sufficiency. He has everything you need. He gives freely to all who ask. His gifts are not earned but received.
So when you struggle with sin, when transformation seems impossible, when genuine repentance feels out of reach—remember the ascended Christ. He led captivity captive. He conquered the forces that held you. He ascended to the Father’s right hand. And from that position of victory and authority, He gives gifts to men. Including you.
That’s not a rhetorical question designed to make you feel guilty. It’s a genuine inquiry into what you’re waiting for. What conditions do you think need to be met before you can approach Jesus? What state do you think you need to achieve before He’ll accept you?
Here’s what stops most people from coming to Christ: They think they need to clean themselves up first. They look at their current spiritual condition—the sins they’re still struggling with, the doubts they’re still wrestling with, the habits they haven’t yet broken—and they think, “I can’t come to Him like this. I need to get better first.”
But Scripture turns that thinking completely upside down. You must come to Jesus just as you are, without delay. Not after you’ve improved. Not once you’ve gotten your life together. Not when you finally feel spiritual enough. Right now. In your current condition. With all your mess and failure and brokenness.
Think about what you're really saying when you delay coming to Christ until you're "ready." You're essentially saying, "I need to make myself acceptable before I can come to the One who makes people acceptable." You're trying to prepare yourself to receive the preparation only He can give. You're attempting to clean yourself before coming to the One who does the cleaning.
Does that make any sense? Would you wait to go to the doctor until after you healed yourself? Would you refuse to see a mechanic until after you fixed your car? Would you delay going to the bank until after you already had money? Of course not. You go to these people precisely because you need what they provide and you can't provide it yourself.
The same is true with Christ. You come to Him because you're a sinner who needs a Savior, not because you've already managed to save yourself. You approach Him in your brokenness because He specializes in healing the broken, not because you've already achieved wholeness. You come as you are because that's the only way you can come.
But—and this is critical—you don't stay as you are. Coming to Christ as you are doesn't mean remaining as you are. The moment you truly encounter Him, transformation begins. Not because you finally got your act together before coming, but because He starts working in you after you come.
So what are you waiting for? Are you putting off coming to Christ until you feel more spiritual? Until you've conquered certain sins? Until you've read enough Scripture or prayed enough prayers? Stop. Those things don't qualify you to come to Christ—they're the fruit of having come to Christ.
You might be thinking, "But I don't feel ready." Good. You're not supposed to feel ready. Nobody is ready. That's the whole point. If you could make yourself ready, you wouldn't need a Savior. Your very unreadiness is what qualifies you to come, because Christ came specifically for people who aren't ready.
Or maybe you're thinking, "But I've tried before and nothing changed." Here's the question: Did you really come to Jesus, or did you just perform religious rituals while keeping Him at arm's length? Did you surrender control of your life, or did you just add some spiritual activities to your existing life? Did you trust in His power to transform you, or did you try to transform yourself through your own effort?
Coming to Jesus isn't a one-time event you can check off a list. It's a daily decision to approach Him in your current condition, confess your current struggles, and trust His current power to work in you. Every morning you wake up, you come to Him as you are that day. Every time you fail, you come to Him in that failure. Every time you're tempted, you come to Him in that moment of weakness.
But you don't stay in that condition. His transforming power begins working the moment you come. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Not after you've proven yourself. Now. Today. In this moment.
The question isn't whether you're good enough to come to Christ. You're not, and you never will be. The question is whether you'll stop waiting and come anyway. Will you stop trying to make yourself acceptable and simply accept that He accepts you? Will you stop delaying and come to Him right now, just as you are?
Because He's waiting. Not for you to get better first. Not for you to become more spiritual. Not for you to earn the right to approach Him. He's waiting for you to come as you are so He can make you into who you're meant to be.
Stop waiting. Come now. As you are.
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
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