|
About Jesus - Steve (Stephen) Sweetman Come
Lord Jesus Revelation 22:17 reads: "The Spirit and the
bride say, 'Come!' And let the one who hears say, 'Come!' Let the one who
is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the
water of life." Revelation 22:20 and 21
read: "He [Jesus] who
testifies to these things says, 'Yes, I am coming
soon.' 'Amen. Come, Lord Jesus' [John]. The grace of the Lord Jesus
be with God’s people. Amen." Note the word
"come" in the above three verses.
We are invited to come and take the free gift of life from Jesus.
Jesus said He will come back, to which John responded with a hearty
"Amen, come Lord Jesus." Then,
after the horrors John just penned, he closed his account with "The
grace of our Lord Jesus be with God's people."
I'm not dogmatic when it
comes to Biblical prophecy and the Book of Revelation.
I lean (emphasis on lean) towards a futurist view of Revelation
that may still be far off into the future, and, I'm far from convinced of a
pre-tribulation rapture. Knowing
these presuppositions, anyone alive as this age ends will desperately need
all that God's grace means, as John wrote.
Biblically speaking,
God's grace is His love directed to us who don't deserve it, as seen in
His free gift of life in verse 16 above.
God's grace is also His divine ability given to us to accomplish His
will in our lives, as seen in John's hope for grace to endure in verse 21.
Considering this second
aspect of God's grace, I wonder how many of us take advantage of God's
divine ability to accomplish His will in our lives.
It's this aspect of grace that will be needed for those living at
the end of this age because when it's all over, a multitude of God's
people will have been executed for their association with Jesus
(Revelation 6:9 - 11, 7:9 - 16). Enduring
obviously requires God's divine empowerment. When surveying our
western-world Christianity, I see many wanting Jesus to come but few
preparing for His coming. I
see an over-involvement with the enticements of our culture.
Preparing for anything important is a necessity.
It's why, for example, we invest our money for retirement. It's why
Jesus advised us to store our treasures in heaven and not on earth
(Matthew 6:19). It's why He
told us not to be like those five foolish virgins who failed to prepare to
meet the bridegroom (Matthew 25:1 - 13). It's
why He commanded us to seek His kingdom above all else (Matthew 6:33).
When thinking about
preparing, I am not talking about storing up a years worth of food, buying
gold bars, or having a working generator.
I'm talking about securing a workable relationship with Jesus in
present time. I'm talking
about having supportive friendships with each other as we function
together to accomplish God's plans right now.
I'm talking about not loving life so much that we shrink from
martyrdom, if such death comes our way (Revelation 12:11).
I'm talking about standing strong in Jesus instead of hiding in the
hills when things get rough (Revelation 6:15).
Enduring a rough future requires us living in the empowerment of
God's grace in the present. As you ask Jesus to
come, He asks you to come and receive His grace, His divine ability given
to you to accomplish His will in your life right now in present time.
|