Come — A Turning Point
Come. Just like every day before, Bartimaeus sat on his mat, begging for his food, sitting in darkness though the sun was shining overhead. Was there any hope in this life, living off the meager gifts of those who walked by?
Come. A spark, a thin thread of hope flashed before his mind. Hope Himself was passing by and now was his chance. With only seconds to decide, he called, he cried out “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” He had asked many unwilling souls for mercy, but this was different. He saw before him a well of mercy, unknown in depth. But his cries were met with scorn. Passersby stabbed words to silence him.
Come. Don’t let this chance, this only chance pass away. Louder and clearer the cry — “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
“Come.”
Come. A single word, a ray of light. Rise. Run. Yearning hope calls deep inside. He is met by unfathomable grace, met by grace Himself. Come.
__________
What about you, what about me?
It was 2014, I was walking down a dirt track and wrestling, not with disability or belligerent passersby, but with my own heart. I felt stuck, unable to rise from the mat of pride, arrogance, and insecurity.
Having grown up in a Christian family, I knew God’s Word, understood the good news in Jesus, but I was prideful in my religion, like the prodigal’s older brother. I thought I had it together, yet was insecure to the core. But God was opening my eyes to the realities of my heart, that I was still trying to put on a show. My acts of obedience, involvement in ministry, even my time of prayer and reading the Word of God was a show, a performance, trying to prove something. It was a blindness in my very soul, but Jesus was calling.
I can’t come… “Come.”
I’m not worthy to come… “Come.”
I’m not faithful… “Come.”
I’m too broken… “Come.”
I have nothing to offer… “Come.”
“Come to me, your radically good, patient, loving, and merciful Shepherd. Come and follow Me step-by-step. Come home just as you are, come and trust Me.”
I heard no audible voice, but these pictures rang in my soul. It was the beginning of a different tone and track in my journey with God. Previously, I knew much about God, but it was an intellectual assent and a striving to prove that I had what it took. God was calling me to stop performing, and start following a good God, a good Savior. To draw close, to trust, and to grow in an intimate walk with a Father who comes out to meet both the prodigal and the prideful, inviting them both in to the party, a celebration of grace.
Though great our sins and sore our woes
His grace much more aboundeth;
His helping love no limit knows,
Our upmost need it soundeth.
Our Shepherd good and true is He,
Who will at last His Israel free
From all their sin and sorrow
From all their sin and sorrow
Martin Luther
As Jesus called to Bartimaeus, so He calls to all of us. Get up, rise out of the darkness and come. Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Come. Come to Him who is wholly lovely.
The Purpose of this Book
“Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live;
and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
my steadfast, sure love for David.
Isaiah 55:1-3
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
John 7:37-39
The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
Revelation 22:17
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Matthew 5:6
God’s Word abounds with invitations — invitations to come and find real life. Whether we realize it or not, our very souls are thirsty, and Jesus invites us to come. All the thirsty may come and never thirst again.
We all long for vibrant life, and it is not something we can bring about through any earthly means at our disposal. As years go by, we realize that all our efforts don’t bring real, true, vibrant life. We are thirsty.
But what does it mean to find life in Jesus, and to find life in Him in every new season? We know that the answer must have something to do with the Gospel, with the cross. The cross is the turning point from death to life, from darkness to light. It is the radical, life-giving forgiveness that can only come through Jesus. There is no life, no hope without the cross, without the Gospel.
If this is the case, why do so many Christians still feel thirsty? I believe it is because we woefully underestimate this gospel. I know this because I have seen it too often in my own life. It is easy for us to think true yet incomplete thoughts about the Gospel — while our ideas about the work of Christ may be doctrinally accurate, they often do not encompass the mind-boggling scope of all that Jesus has done and all He is for us. Believing a shallow Gospel has a devastating impact on our souls. In my own journey, I persisted for years only thinking about the cross as the removal of wrath and the pardon of wrong. These are right and good thoughts, and yet… deeper, deeper is the cross. More radical the Gospel! One of the reasons we struggle to find life in Jesus is because we have not come to grips with all that Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection mean. Radical, radical is the cross.
At the core of the Gospel is a relationship — a relationship once mangled and broken by sin, a relationship made brilliant and whole. You cannot read the Word of God and escape this relational emphasis, because the imagery and vocabulary used by the apostles is trying to describe a relational change so radical that words struggle to convey the real weight of it.
The Gospel is reconciliation, adoption, marriage, belonging. God uses all the most meaningful words and relationships possible to push us to wrestle with the weight and impact of redemption — friends of God, sons and daughters of the Heavenly Father, the bride of Jesus. And because even these relational terms fall short, God heaps on more — we are one with Christ, God’s own Spirit living in us, we in Jesus, Jesus in us. It is through this, this radical relationship with God, made possible by the cleansing, redeeming work of Jesus, that God imparts life — daily life, complete life, unfailing, undying, unending life. Go again and linger on the last two chapters of Revelation, because the glorious bliss of all eternity is this: a perfectly restored relationship with God — God with His people, this is eternal and vibrant life.
While we look to eternal vibrancy with God, we must return to the question — what about life right now in all the joys and hardships of this world? The truth is that this vibrant life is poured into all God’s people right now as they live in the present tense reality of their new relationship with their God. When Jesus describes the life of the believer in John 15, He describes a day-by-day vibrancy. Day-by-day staying close to Jesus in total dependence, our days being filled with abundant fruitfulness and joy as we reflect the beauty of God in our lives. On more than one occasion, God describes the lives of His people being like trees planted by life-giving waters — vibrant, green, and fruitful, even in the midst of the trials and deserts of life.
If we allow ourselves to really look honestly at our own lives and look God’s promises square in the face, it has the potential breathe deep hope into our souls. We are thirsty; do we admit it? Jesus invites us to come and find life right now; do we believe Him? The thirst quenching waters that Jesus offers are not the waters of ease, comfort, security, entertainment, legacy, or achievement. What Jesus offers every one of us is vibrancy and fruitfulness of life through intimate relationship with God, and the foundation and restoration of this relationship is the Gospel. So now, through Jesus, we have the invitation to come daily, drink daily, and find true life through a relationship with the giver of all life. Will we fully embrace both Jesus’ assessment of our thirst and the life-giving waters that He offers?
Now, what if we want to embrace what Jesus is saying, but our experience doesn’t seem to match His description?
Over the years of following Jesus, I have often still felt thirsty— having a knowledge of theology and the promises of God, and yet feeling a profound disconnect between my experience and the joy and fruitfulness described by Jesus. What do we do when we face these realities? Do I conclude that this life will always be a disappointing slog and we will only find joy and beauty in the next life? Or am I missing something?
Beginning with my time wrestling with God in 2014, God has been changing the core tone of my relationship with Him. Slowly, He has been showing me that there is greater depth and beauty in relationship with Him than I have known — soul-reviving, thirst-quenching daily life with Jesus. This has not been an easy or comfortable journey… it has involved much death of self — God pruning the dead and withering branches of self-love, self-trust, self-confidence, pride, insecurity, and the like. And God has caused new hope, faith, and joy to start budding in its place. Much of what I have seen God doing in my own soul has hinged on regularly getting alone with God, following the example of Jesus as He retreated to the wilderness to pray and commune with His Father. His example, the depth of His relationship with the Father, is a hopeful invitation to us. God tells us that His aim in our lives is to make us more and more like Christ. Jesus not only models intimacy with God the Father, but invites us and brings us into that same intimacy.
For all who are in Jesus, this door and invitation is open — to come away, to pray, to listen to God’s words and Spirit, to commune with our good Father. As we do, my experience is that God shows us Himself — shows us who He is and all He has done and promises to do. And it is not merely my experience that testifies to this fact. God tells us and promises us in Scripture that He will use His Word and His Spirit to work powerfully in the lives of His people, to transform, to teach, to convict, to encourage, and to shape His people — to impart the life of Christ which is true life, true vibrancy. God tells us in Scripture that drawing near in prayer is life-giving. Alongside the invitation to prayer, God promises a deepening experience of His grace, peace, mercy, and more. As we draw near to God, He works and speaks in ways that meet us right where we need it. And as we are brought to more clearly see our God, it changes everything. At root, I believe us coming with our thirst and God satisfying our souls is nothing more than growing into the beautiful and intimate relationship of Father and child — the very life and relationship that Jesus lived. This is life, this is hope, this is vibrancy.
While what we need — the restoration of our relationship with God in every facet — is conceptually simple, it does not come naturally. Full engagement of heart and mind with God is something we must intentionally foster. We are used to living our lives distant from God. And not only are we accustomed to living for ourselves and by ourselves, but we live in societies that relentlessly pull our attention away from God. We have a desperate need to learn new patterns of daily life with our good Father.
Even with these barriers, there is hope — because God Himself is working and fighting to bring transformed life to every son and daughter He adopts. He no longer wants us to live as orphans, but promises to form the very life of Jesus in us. And so, even though I am putting together a book of resources, the point is not so much the specific methodology, but a simple drawing near in trust, and God working His transforming power in weak and insecure people like you and me. Yes, we take steps to come close and to trust, but it is from beginning to end a work of grace — something that God works in us because of His kindness and faithfulness. And it is a promise — all who are thirsty can come, and all who come will be satisfied.
In my journey, my intentional drawing near and God’s work of transformation have involved a lot of dwelling on and lingering on the Word of God, pouring out myself through authentic prayer, daily following His lead in faith, and His Spirit speaking truth into long-believed lies. As I have interacted with other brothers and sisters in Christ, I find that many want to grow in their love, their closeness with Jesus, but life often crowds out the time or they don’t know where to start. Let’s not let this hinder us any longer from coming and finding true life. As I have personally benefited from many brothers and sisters, as well as many books, helping me along the path to a closer relationship with our good Father, my hope is to share and bring together some of the resources and wisdom that have impacted me. May it encourage you along the path of engaging more deeply with God — with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. And as you draw near to our good Father, may your thirst be deeply satisfied.
Our good Father, your children are thirsty. We hear you beckoning us to come and find life, abundant life.
We want to come, but we don’t know how.
We also must confess that there are huge parts of our minds and our hearts that don’t want to come, because we know that to come, to really come, means surrendering all we are to You.
Despite this tension and paradox in our hearts, Your invitation stands — “Let the thirsty come.”
Father, grow in us the desire, the longing for You.
Father, help us to surrender, to give You all we are and have, that You would shape us. Let us surrender to You, knowing that You satisfy the thirsty soul more deeply than we can fathom.
Father, teach us to come — teach us to engage with You, with Your words, with Your Spirit who dwells in us, with You Yourself in prayer. Remove from us all the habits, attitudes, and false ideas that hinder full engagement with You.
And Father, pour Your abundant life-giving water into our thirsty souls, that we would be satisfied in You alone. Open our eyes to see all You are and all You have done. Fill Your children that we would know Your incomparable beauty, and, in turn, reflect that beauty to a thirsty world.
Amen.