Come Lord Jesus!

This is the most basic prayer in the Bible. It occurs at the end of the book of Revelation in a brief conversation between Jesus and John. It is at once, either the most comprehensively hopeful prayer in Christianity or the most terrifying. What is curious is that you rarely hear a Christian pray this foundational prayer. I have rarely heard it in a worship service in the thousands that I have attended.

Come Lord Jesus!

There are two ways to consider this prayer. This first and by far the most common is to petition Jesus to come to us and fix a specific problem. This morning, my prayer included a prayer for peace in the Middle East and in Ukraine…….for wisdom for our leaders. This is a hopeful prayer…….but a fairly small one when you consider the big picture. This prayer recognizes the sovereignty and power of Jesus. But, at its core, it is a prayer for Jesus to fix an isolated problem that is disrupting our life…….the way we want to run it. We hear a similar request often……at the grocery.

“Clean up…….on aisle six.”

This prayer hands a small specific problem over to Jesus, leaving us in charge of running the world. It is an attempt to preserve our global sovereignty by bringing in a consultant and delegating a particular job to him. In essence, we box Jesus up where he cannot compromise our sovereignty. Then we drag him out to fix something and then shove him back into his box.

The second way to see this prayer is rarely prayed. It takes a global perspective. This is a prayer for Jesus to return in his full sovereignty. It is a prayer for Jesus to return in the ” second coming”. This is a big deal. After creation, it will be the most consequential event in human history. It will include the tribulation, the rapture, a millennium of peace, and the final solution to the problem of Satan. But, the most important part of this event will be the end of human sovereignty and the full institution of the sovereignty of God. We are promised that this will be wonderful……..paradise…….for believers. For non-believers…….not so much. I will return to the second coming for non-believers in a future post. For now, I will consider the second coming for believers.

We will lay it all……everything…….at the feet of Jesus: our hopes, our dreams, our plans, our appetites. We will return control of the world, and more importantly, of our lives to God. This is where that control has always belonged anyway. For the strongest of Christians, this will be anticipated as a joyous event. For the vast majority of Christians, we will approach it with some degree of trepidation. For the secular humanist, this is something absolutely terrifying. It is so terrifying that they use the only defense available……..they deny the existence of God.

And so…….this simple prayer becomes a litmus test for the strength, even the validity, of the only tool we have to gain entry to paradise.

Our faith.

Do I believe in the existence of God…….in his power……in his justice……in his mercy……….and, ultimately, in his absolute sovereignty? Do I believe in his promises,

Or do I confine him to the little jobs.

“Cleanup on aisle six.”

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

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.

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.

Revelation 22: 16-21, ESV

We run our lives as a series of transitions. We go to work for a boss. In return, the boss gives us a paycheck. We feed the parking meter. In return, we get a spot to park our car. This goes on all day long.

But there is one transaction that stands out. It stands out because it involves an exchange of commodities that are priceless. This is the central transaction of the Christian faith. It undergirds our entire reason for living…….for being. This transaction defines us as Christians. This transaction dictates our eternal fate.

The background behind this transaction centers on who controls an extraordinarily valuable commodity and who wants that commodity. It is classic “supply and demand” at the highest level of the marketplace. Because of the interplay of supply and demand, the commodities involved in this transaction are the most valuable commodities in the universe.

So……who demands……..who supplies……..and what are the priceless commodities?

We are used to dealing with physical commodities in our temporal world: food, shelter, clothing, etc. But, the simple reality is that our time in this physical world is severely limited. The spiritual world is eternal. In the light of eternity, our time in the physical/temporal world is the blink of an eye. We need to consider supply, demand, and commodities in an eternal framework.

The cast of characters is very small……..God and us.

What commodity does each of us bring to the table?

God brings paradise…….eternal joy in his presence. There is nothing more valuable in the universe. Can you think of anything in your world that you would sacrifice eternal joy in order to acquire? Can you name any commodity that you would sacrifice eternal joy…….that you would accept eternal pain…….in order to acquire? Eternal joy, in the presence of our creator is the most valuable commodity in creation.

God controls the supply of the commodity of eternal joy……..we supply the demand.

We are the other side of the transaction. We are tiny. We have very little to offer. At least, that is how it looks from where we stand…….trapped in time. But, this is where it gets interesting. There is a commodity that we have complete control over. Furthermore, it is a commodity that God demands…….from us. Because of the nature of the commodity……..and because of God’s nature, God will not force……extort……this commodity from us. It must be given freely.

The commodity? Faith.

We control the supply of the commodity of faith………God supplies the demand.

And there it is. The most important, most valuable transaction in our brief lifetime:

We freely give God our faith……..our belief…….our trust…..our love. God freely gives us paradise……..forgiveness………justification. Each side of the transaction is a free will offering. Each side of the transaction costs the giver very little. And yet, on each side, the receiver gets something that they place extreme…….even unlimited……..value on.

Each side receives something that they did not earn…….something that they cannot or will not compell.

I can either give God my faith…….or withhold it.

God can either give me eternal joy……paradise……or withhold it.

And that transaction……..is the beating heart of Christianity. What amazes me is that so many good smart people refuse the transaction.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Jesus describing the cost of our side of the transaction, Matthew 11: 28-30, ESV

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then, in his joy, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

Jesus describing the value of God’s side of the transaction, Matthew 13:44, ESV

I am 73 years old. For most of my life, I have enjoyed good health. I have been blessed with strength, intelligence, even with an occasional outburst of wisdom. And I am grateful to God……my creator. But, I am getting old. My strength, health, and even my little bit of wisdom are fading. Just about every day, there is a job that I once would have done, that I now farm out to someone younger…….stronger…….more capable. I am beginning to think about finding someone to care for me…….when I am no longer capable of managing the most basic tasks.

Clearly, I am past my physical and mental peak. And, the final outcome of my decline will be my death. This is the story of life in our temporal world……not just mine……but yours as well…….even if you are a 20 year old Olympic champion:

Birth……the rise to power……..the loss of power…….death.

The secular humanist will tell you that this is the normal deterioration of any living organism. Your telomeres are failing. Your DNA is degrading. Your body’s natural repair mechanisms are falling behind in their race against the ravages of time. And all of this is true.

But, I believe that there is more to it. I believe that the slow physical and mental decline that we all experience…….unless we die “before our time”………is a part of God’s plan. We begin as children……..completely helpless, completely powerless, ignorant, completely dependent. We rise to adulthood when we enjoy power, even a degree of sovereignty. We then get old, weak, befuddled, and powerless. We wind up utterly dependent. And then we die.

We tend to view the years of power and sovereignty as the “normal” years and the years of dependency as anomalies. But, that really isn’t true.

Years ago, I was in the middle of a heated argument with my oldest son. He called me out on some point…….he said, “what do you think you are trying to do?” I replied, “I’m just trying to get control of the situation”. He said, “what you really mean is ‘the illusion of control”.

Smart guy.

I sometimes reflect on where both of us were on the “Bell curve” of wisdom on that particular day.

When you consider eternity under God’s sovereignty, it is clear to me that dependency, childhood, is the normal state of mankind. Our brief foray into the realm of power and control is the anomaly. It is clear to me that the decrepitude of old age…….our “second childhood”……..is the beginning of our transition to the spiritual world. This is a world where God……our creator……is absolutely sovereign and we are completely dependent…….childlike. God will not ask us how we think things should be run. He will not ask us where we want to go today or what we want for breakfast. God will decide.

This dependency grates against our sensibilities as adult humans.

But; if we are honest, aren’t we absolutely dependent…….on God…..right now?

After you subtract out all of the problems that arise from other humans exercising their power…….their attempts at sovereignty………the dependency of paradise under a loving creator………begins to look very good………heavenly.

This perspective sheds an entirely new light on the aches and pains that are my reality…….at 73.

I am simply returning to my baseline…….completely dependent on a sovereign creator……..a sovereign creator who loves me and cares for me……..who always has.

I hope to enter paradise with a childlike humility. This will inform my relationship with my creator………my eternity.

“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

Jesus explaining human dependency, Matthew 18:3-4, ESV

“Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”

Jesus explaining God’s sovereignty, John 21:18-29, ESV

I am a Christian…….a 73 year old Christian.

I believe in the Trinity…….Father, Son, and Spirit.

I believe in heaven, hell, and eternal life.

I believe in God’s promise of eternal life in paradise for me specifically.

Sounds fabulous.

So…….why do I worry about death? Because I do worry about it……..and so do you.

If you are not a Christian, if you are a secular humanist, then your worry is absolutely justified. You will die and one of two things will happen:

The lights will just go out.

You will find yourself in an eternal burning hell.

I get this…….the secular humanist’s fear of death is absolutely logical and completely justified. It is the Christian’s fear of death, my fear of death, that I struggle with.

Why does my death worry me?

The Bible doesn’t give me a lot of guidance as to what things will be like…….after I die. The descriptions of paradise are nice…..but largely symbolic. It seems safe to assume that spending eternity in a spiritual world will be very different from spending a few decades in a temporal world. Whatever is troubling me must lie in that difference.

The first thing that worries me is my ignorance. I understand very little about paradise. In fact, I lack the intellectual tools to deal with it. Eternity means that time either does not exist……or is irrelevant. How do you plan your day without the framework of time? Space, as well, may be entirely different. Does paradise have borders? The only explanation Jesus offers us is to compare marriage in paradise to marriage in this world. He pretty much says, “it just doesn’t work that way”. About all that I can know is that paradise is the creation of a God who loves me. Paradise is a gift to me……unearned…….a manifestation of God’s grace. That should be enough.

And yet, I worry.

There must be more to the problem.

The second thing that worries me is that I will be powerless……or nearly so…….in the presence of my creator. Maybe I will have a job. Maybe I will have a few responsibilities. But, I will not be in control. I have spent 73 years controlling…….manipulating my temporal environment. I’ve done some things well……others…..not so much. But, it is safe to say that I have enjoyed the power. I am proud. I am pretty sure that in paradise, my power and my pride will be drastically reduced.

Ignorant and powerless. That, I think, sums up what worries me about my death. In paradise, I will be like a child. I will be cared for. I will be loved. I will be satisfied. I will be fulfilled. But………I will not be in charge. I will have what I have really needed all along…….relationship with my creator. What I will not have is all of the things that I have pursued in this temporal world. What I will not have is the power and control that I have enjoyed during my temporal life.

My death will be the end of my kingdom. My kingdom will be replaced by the fulfillment of God’s plan for me……his kingdom.

The solution to my worry?

I must firmly place my trust in my creator. I will trust his love for me. I will trust God’s plan for me.

I will trust that being a servant in God’s eternal kingdom will be much better……… than being a sovereign in my own little kingdom.

I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter.

Paul comparing his ignorance of paradise to God’s knowledge,
2 Corinthians 12:2-4, ESV