And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. Revelation 22:17
We find in the closing thoughts of the Bible one final invitation for those who are not in Christ to make things right with God. The invitation of the Lord is open to all and God did not close his divine revelation to us without extending it one last time. We are sure to never leave an assembly of the saints without formally extending the invitation, typically accompanied with a hymn to encourage the needy to respond. It is also necessary to point out one does not have to wait, nor should they if they need, for a service to answer the Lord’s invitation. A causal study of the book of Acts will show several instances of those who rendered initial obedience to the Gospel or were restored in small groups or even in one-on-one situations.
This verse mentions the connection of hearing to responding. What a great responsibility we have before us to carry the message (Rom 10:17). We work locally in our community to invite and encourage and we are happy to have had the opportunity to have been able to at least sow the seed in the community. We need to support in any way possible those who carry the message abroad (Rom 10:15). Sharing God’s Word is truly one of the most beautiful things we can do in this life (Rom 10:15).
God has met the greatest need of sinful man with the gift of salvation through his Son. Romans 3:24 says, “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus”. Most hear the word free and say “what’s the catch?” The answer is also recorded in our Bible in 1 Corinthians 2:12: “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God”. It does “cost” us giving up the ways of a sinful world. In essence, ridding our lives of the toxicants that destroy (1 John 2:15-17).
I feel we are unable to fathom how deeply God desires us to be found faithful, but the choice is ours (Rev 3:20). God extended the invitation as He closed our Bibles. Many of you likely have invitations of some kind at home. They are dated and they will expire. The same is true of the Lord’s (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9). Let us always be quick to accept the invitation if needed and pray for those astray that they have hearts tendered and time and opportunity extended to them.
By Jason Barger