Week 8: Return

Come, Lord Jesus!

These are the final words of our Bible. Those who worked diligently through the Spirit to order our canon intentionally placed Revelation at the end so that this final picture of Jesus's return will be the last thing we see as we finish reading our Bible. It is an incredibly beautiful series of images full of sights, sounds, and aromas. There is a multitude of enamoring descriptions of Jesus himself. In all of these, Jesus is offering an invitation. The invitation is to come to him. Come to him for all eternal life. Come to the waters of life. Come to the tree of life. Come through the gates to the city of life. In all and through all, his invitation still rings out not only to us but also through us. Notice specifically that John points out that both Jesus and his bride, the church, offer the invitation. We are both the ones who are invited and the ones who are inviting others.

As we follow Jesus on the way, he guides us into truth. This truth, the truth of his word, and the guarantee of his promise lead us into this abundant and eternal life. Yet, we should not hoard it or keep it only for ourselves. As we are being formed into the gospel of Jesus, we share the good news everywhere. We invite everyone we encounter to join us in following him. The life he has promised us awaits, and this life is available for everyone!

We can't wait to spend eternity with Christ. All of the relationships in our life that give us joy, peace, and abundance are but a foretaste of what awaits us eternally in full relationship with Jesus.

Jesus says to us today, in our mundane and everyday lives, I am coming soon!

We say in reply, "Come, Lord Jesus!"

How has this study encouraged you to be more invitational in following Jesus?

How does this passage encourage you to be more invitational?