There’s a quote that flips a lot of religious assumptions on their head:

Holiness is not the way to Jesus; Jesus is the way to holiness.

It’s short, but it packs a punch. For many of us, whether we’ve grown up in faith or come to it later in life, there’s often a quiet belief that we have to “clean ourselves up” before we can approach Jesus. Like we have to reach a certain level of moral performance before we’re worthy of His presence. But this quote reminds us of the gospel’s core truth: it’s not about what we do to get to Him — it’s about what He does to bring us to God.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Ephesians 2:8-9

Jesus doesn’t wait for perfection. He invites us as we are.

Think of the people Jesus surrounded Himself with during His ministry — fishermen, tax collectors, sinners, outcasts. They weren’t holy when He called them. But through being with Him, learning from Him, and following Him, they were transformed. Holiness wasn’t the entry ticket; it was the result of walking with Him.

“He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.”

Titus 3:5

We don’t earn Jesus by being good — we grow in goodness by knowing Him.

Trying to earn our way to Jesus through good deeds alone can lead to pride or despair. Pride if we think we’re doing well, despair if we keep falling short. But the gospel frees us from that pressure. It tells us: Jesus came for the broken, not the perfect. He came to save, not to reward the already righteous.

“And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

Hebrews 10:10

So what does this mean practically?

It means we don’t have to hide our mess. We come to Jesus with our struggles, our doubts, our inconsistencies — and He begins the slow, beautiful work of making us holy. It’s not instant. It’s a process. But it’s real, and it’s rooted not in our effort, but in His grace.

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:8

Holiness is the fruit, not the root.

Let Jesus be the root of your life, and holiness will grow. Not as a burden, but as a natural outcome of knowing Him more deeply.

So the next time you feel like you have to “get it together” before you pray, go to church, or even just approach God — remember this: You don’t get holy to find Jesus. You find Jesus, and He makes you holy.

“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”

John 14:6

Peace and holiness in Christ brothers and sisters.