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