The cry of the Christian religion is the gentle word, "Come." The
Jewish law harshly said, "Go, take heed unto thy steps as to the path
in which thou shalt walk. Break the commandments, and thou shalt
perish; keep them, and thou shalt live." The law was a dispensation
of terror, which drove men before it as with a scourge; the gospel
draws with bands of love. Jesus is the good Shepherd going before His
sheep, bidding them follow Him, and ever leading them onwards with
the sweet word, "Come." The law repels, the gospel attracts. The law
shows the distance which there is between God and man; the gospel
bridges that awful chasm, and brings the sinner across it.
From the first moment of your spiritual life until you are
ushered into glory, the language of Christ to you will be, "Come,
come unto me." As a mother puts out her finger to her little child
and woos it to walk by saying, "Come," even so does Jesus. He will
always be ahead of you, bidding you follow Him as the soldier follows
his captain. He will always go before you to pave your way, and clear
your path, and you shall hear His animating voice calling you after
Him all through life; while in the solemn hour of death, His sweet
words with which He shall usher you into the heavenly world shall be--
"Come, ye blessed of my Father."
Nay, further, this is not only Christ's cry to you, but, if you
be a believer, this is your cry to Christ--"Come! come!" You will be
longing for His second advent; you will be saying, "Come quickly,
even so come Lord Jesus." You will be panting for nearer and closer
communion with Him. As His voice to you is "Come," your response to
Him will be, "Come, Lord, and abide with me. Come, and occupy alone
the throne of my heart; reign there without a rival, and consecrate
me entirely to Thy service."
