Our God and Father has always been and will always be a God who engages with and embraces humanity. The bible reveals that God has been calling people for millenia, indeed one of the final commands given in the bible is ‘to come’.

¹⁷ 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. (Revelation 21)

The Holy Spirit wants people to come. The church (the bride) tells people to ‘come’.  Those who hear the message of ‘come!’ are commanded to repeat it and pass the offer to others.  God wants people to draw near to him, to quench their thirst for life.  God offers life eternal for free.  Life eternal is free, not becuase it is worthless, but becuase it has been paid for already by Jesus.

This passage reminds us that a Spirit filled church is an inviting church committed to making Jesus known and extending the hand of friendship from God.  This passage also reminds me that a Spirit filled person reaches out to the people around them, inviting others to join in good things that they have in Christ.

Let us have an invitational attitude like God. Lets invite people ‘to come’ to our home; ‘to come’ to our church; ‘to come’ to our bible studies; ‘to come’ to our events; ‘to come’ on holidays with us; ‘to come’ and share life with us.  Maybe in one of these contexts they will come to hear God’s invitiation to forgiveness and eternal life!

Denis Oliver