4th December 2023
Come Jesus come
He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
Revelation 22:20 (NIV)
I have heard the words: ‘Come, Lord, Jesus!’ all week. I get emotional thinking about these words spoken in Revelation by Jesus at the end of his revealing in the book of Revelation; a culmination of his plan of salvation, of his adoption and claiming of his children. It is a pure declaration of his love for us. The world just keeps getting more and more messed up, and you wonder just how much longer it will endure. How much longer must I endure? The very first verses of Genesis chapter 1 give us a hint of the beginnings of things when they speak of the earth God created. They speak of the earth as being first formless and empty and covered with darkness. With only a hint of information, we must not assume we know all that God has done and when. I just know he made the earth we know of, and it is still in his hands; we are in his hands. We need an open mind to the way God works and to be ready for new ways of thinking. I know no matter how hard I try, God will still surprise me in the end.
Christ called us to come to him (Matthew 11:28) and we cannot come to him unless we are called (John 14:6) but the good news is that he has called us. Come and I will make you fishers of men, come, and walk on the water with me, come and follow me, come, and make your home with me, come and I will give you rest, and let the little children come to me. Come and have life eternal with me. Christ is the answer to all our brokenness, but first, we must come to him.
Alpha and Omega, first and the last. From Genesis to Revelation, God has called us to come to him. God is relentless, he will not let go of us no matter what happens around us, no matter our failings. We do not have to be perfect first, the only perfection we need is Jesus Christ himself within us, by the Spirit. Though Jesus seems far away in the heavenly realms, he is still close by within us. The world we live in is still a mess because not everyone believes, or not everyone believes God’s truth, not everyone understands who God really is, and not everyone follows the guidance of the Spirit. We are all a mess just like the world we have messed up. And so, we cry out: where are you Lord Jesus, please come again and make all things new, please save us from this world and its ways. Please save us from ourselves. Jesus reminds us that he is coming soon. “Yes, I am coming soon,” he tells us in Revelation 22:7, 12. He will come at the perfect time and in the perfect way chosen by the Father. As we impatiently wait for that glorious day, the Bride of Christ cries out: “Come, Lord Jesus, come!”
Prayer
Almighty God, as it is written in your magnificent word to us, and so I also pray in the name of Jesus: “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.”
Study by Anne Gillam
About the writer:
Anne Gillam is a retired Pastor in Grace Communion International, Klamath Falls, Oregon, USA.
Local congregation:
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