Come to Me

Just like any truth in Scripture, the more you ponder these word of Jesus, the more lovely they become.

We tend to think of “Come to Me” as the invitation to salvation. That is certainly part of it: in order to be saved, one must “come” to Jesus. 

However, it’s not ALL of the idea. 

Just like when Jesus instructed us to “Ask, seek, and knock…”  the idea is really “Ask and keep on asking….seek and keep on seeking….knock and keep on knocking….” so with this truth. We are meant not only to come to Jesus for new life, but to come and KEEP ON coming to Him, every day, for the rest of our lives. 

This is an intimate relationship.

We are meant not only to come to Jesus for new life, but to come and KEEP ON coming to Him, every day, for the rest of our lives.

When I think of the word "come", I think of child-training.

Through my years of raising eleven children, I came to the conclusion that very tiny children need to learn two basic commands. First of all they need to understand the word "no", because that could save their life. (If a child is reaching for an electrical socket, they need to respond to the parents' voice command "no".) But secondly, as soon as they become mobile in any way, they need to learn to obey the command to "come".

What does this involve for a young child?

When my two-year-old daughter began running towards the neighbor's house, where many cars were coming and going, I called her to "come". This meant she had to give up her own agenda--she had to make a decision to turn around and come back to me. It was a decision, and a direction.

But the command to "come" is more than just a decision and a direction, it’s PERSONAL. 

If I say to my child, “Come to ME”, I’m asking them to come to a person--to myself, because I have something in mind for them. I may want them to come because I know that the direction they were headed wasn’t good for them. Or, I may have something I want to tell them…or something to give them. Perhaps help or comfort if they are hurt or in need. I want my child to be secure in that. So the command to “come to me” isn’t always just training in obedience. It's training them in knowing where their source is...it’s training them to believe my love for them.

The command to come is training my children to believe my love for them.

So when we hear the Lord say “Come to Me”, it’s a simple command and a personal command.

It involves decision: I must choose to come. It involves direction: I must change my course and move to HIM. And it involves learning to believe and trust His love. It involves acknowledging that Jesus is my Master, and He is also my Source and my Answer for every need.

“Jesus said, I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35)

That is a big claim to make. He is claiming to be able to satisfy the heart, and only God can do something so big as that! 

“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink." (John 7:37) 

He cried out! This is a deeply heartfelt call coming from the heart of the Lord Himself. "Come to Me" is never a casual thing. He longs for people to come to Him. He longs for US to come to Him and trust Him, because He knows that ONLY HE can meet our need, satisfy our hearts, and make us the people He wants for us to be. It matters to Jesus that we come.

“Come to Me, all you 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.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

To whom is He giving this invitation? The weary, the troubled, the burdened of soul. In this fallen world, that's ALL of us!

With what sort of attitude are we to come? 

The three commands here are “Come to Me”, “Take My yoke”, and “Learn of Me.”  In other words, Surrendered, trusting, and teachable. Being teachable requires humility.

This attitude is a choice.

What does He promise to those who come?

Rest. Rest for your soul. Rest because HE is enough for you. Rest because He is present. Rest because of who HE is. Rest because of what He has done. We can even have rest in the middle of a yoke, a path to walk, a purposeful job to do…because in the midst of that.

He is there with us.

"Let the little children come to Me" (Matt.19:14).

If we think about this verse in light of what He said in Matthew 18:3..

"Unless YOU are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."

We have here another important lesson on HOW to come to Jesus--we must come like little children.

Little children look for the person that they KNOW is their refuge. They come without pretense. They have no concept of trying to impress...no concept of trying to “fix” themselves or “fix” anything before coming. They don’t try to offer their own ideas, advice or solutions. They come just as they are, in all their need and inadequacy, TO THE PERSON they trust: the person they know loves them.

And this is what Jesus says to us: "become as LITTLE children, and COME TO ME". 

Come without pretense. There’s no need to try to impress God when He knows absolutely everything about you already. Don’t try to fix yourself...don’t try to fix anything! God doesn’t need your own ideas, advice or solutions. Come just as you are, in all your need and inadequacy.

Come to the LORD who loves you. 

Believe He loves you.

Believe that you can TRUST the One who loves you.