Day #365 - Maranatha

The Presence - A Devotional for living in Thanksgiving, Worship and Wonder

”The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life... He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.“

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭22‬:‭17‬, ‭20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Photo by Carolien van Oijen on Unsplash

What is the greatest invitation you have ever received?

How did you feel when you received it? Have you ever been a VIP? A truly very important person at an event? What made you feel so special about being a special guest? Of course the greatest invitation I have ever received was to be invited into this life changing love relationship with Jesus. The greatest invitation I ever gave was asking my wife to marry me. All of us were made for love and attention. Our fallenness has allowed our desire for attention to become twisted and selfish, but we were made for love and attention. To never have someone invite us or show us affection would cause damage to our souls. An invitation reveals desire and conveys love because an invitation says I see you and I want to spend time with you.

Our relationship with Jesus, this fellowship with “the Presence” has only occurred because of God creating us, inviting us and making the way for us through His sacrifice. But we also see in the Scripture that where God takes Divine initiative and gives us an invitation to really know Him, He is looking for a human response. We are not the only ones who desire to be seen and known. There is nothing missing in God that we can add to Him, but there is a longing in His heart for fellowship and friendship. There is a longing in His heart to share His love with us and for us to know One another. There is a longing in our Savior for His bride the church.

At the end of Revelation and the end of whole Bible we hear one last time the Maranatha cry, “Come Lord.” Our Lord Jesus Himself says, “The Spirit and the bride say come!” The Spirit and the bride are crying out for Jesus to come back. We along with the Spirit of God are asking Him to come and be with us. We are inviting our Lord to return for our great marriage to Him as the bride, His church. We are inviting our Lord to be with us now and to dwell with us forever.

But John doesn’t stop there, he says there is another cry for him who hears this and that cry is “let the one who is thirsty come.” There is living water, new life and a relationship for Jesus. Our cry is for Jesus to come and be with us, His cry is for all who realize they are thirsty without Him to come to Him as the source of life and be satisfied by His living water.

Jesus last words in the Bible are “Yes, I am coming soon.” He has promised His presence and He will fulfill that urgency. There is an ache in our hearts to be with the One we love both now and forever. Our prayer to Jesus’ last words is Maranatha, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”

Lord Jesus, the Bridegroom, the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star, I join with the Spirit and the bride and cry out, “Come!” Maranatha my precious Savior. I long for Your return. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.