Draw Near – 365 Guides to Greater Intimacy with GodSample

CHECKMATE

In the Louvre, there is a beautiful painting of Goethe's Faust. It depicts Mephistopheles and Faust with a chessboard between them. Mephistopheles is pointing with a leer to the board while Faust sits dejected. Mephistopheles is gleefully crying, "Checkmate!" One day, a famous chess expert looked long at the painting. Suddenly he lunged forward, exclaiming, "Just a minute, Satan, Faust has one more move."

Looking at the despair of our war-torn and hungry world, we often feel Satan indeed has us in "checkmate." However, the Bible tells us there is one more move that will forever end his domination over us. That is the coming of Christ. He will forever redeem the earth unto Himself. It is by divine purpose that the very last prayer of the Bible is a simple plea: "Even so, come Lord Jesus."

Everyday, the believer must pray that Christ's coming hasten. We often back off from this prayer because we have many loved ones who need to be converted. However, Jesus taught us to daily pray, "Your Kingdom come." The believer longs for His coming Kingdom when Christ will spell the end of hell's hordes. There is still one move to come. Today, let us join in a resounding prayer: "Even so, come, Lord Jesus."