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“The Spirit and the bride both say, ‘Come.’
After separating ourselves from God, we need to come back to Him. By His grace, in the death of His Son on our behalf, He has made it possible for us to return. By accepting the gospel, we can be baptized into Christ’s death and receive the forgiveness of our sins (Romans 6:3-5). And as Paul said, “If we have been united with him in death like him, we will certainly be united with him in resurrection like him” (v.5). But the question is, will we do this? Will we decide to receive what God is offering? He invites us, but what shall we do?
All that stands between us and God’s mercy is our stubborn will, our persistent refusal to accept His invitation. The Book of Revelation, the last book of Scripture, ends by emphasizing God’s desire for everyone to come and participate in the salvation He has provided. The penultimate verse of the last chapter of that hopeful book says, “The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come.’ And the listener says, ‘Come.’ And whoever is thirsty should come; Whoever wishes may take the water of life freely.
We accept this invitation when we repent of our sins, confess our faith, and are baptized into Christ. As a child, I often heard Charlotte Homer’s hymn as an “invitation song” at the end of a sermon, inviting people to come and follow the gospel. “Hear the invitation, come, whoever wishes; praise God for complete salvation, whoever wishes.” Powerful words, these. And we’ve lost if we’ve heard them so many times that they’ve lost their appeal.
In its most far-reaching application, Revelation 22:17 is an invitation to drink “the water of life”. In eternity. There is no contradiction of meaning here – we drink this water now, as a foretaste, but it will have even greater meaning to enjoy it in eternity. But we have to keep in mind: Only here and now can we accept God’s invitation. When this life ends, it will be too late for us to decide that, yes, we would like to enjoy the waters of life.
Listen to the invitation,
Whoever wants comes;
Praise God for complete salvation,
For whoever wants.
(Charlotte G. Homer)
Gary Henry – WordPoints.com AreYouaChristian.com
