The Invitation of the King

God's Word assures us that if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us (Jas 4:8). What a wonderful promise! Jesus has already undertaken everything by coming to this earth as a Man and suffering the atrocity of the cross to reconcile us to God. He has taken the first step, and now it's our responsibility to take the second. If we do, He assures us that He will manifest Himself.

However, Christ is too perfect and beautiful to just receive Him into our hearts at a given moment and then perceive Him as an “addition” to our lives, not as a “whole." God is a jealous God (Dt 6:15). He wants us to have eyes for Him only. God doesn't call us to go out with Him, but to marry Him.

That's why we must leave everything to follow Him (Mt 16:24). In His kingdom, there isn't a numbered, hierarchical list where first comes God, then comes our family at number 2, then the Church or work at number 3, and so on. No, when Jesus is number 1, there's no room for anything or anyone else.

The invitation to love Him and spend time with Him daily is majestic and can only be answered here on earth. The opportunity to take up one's cross and follow Him is the most wonderful request God could have made of us: “God gives us a cross, and the cross gives us God”.

Maybe you don't yet have a great hunger and thirst for the person of Christ, but you have the desire to long for Him. The good news is that all you have to do is ask the Father with a sincere heart to make you dependent on His Presence, and He will. For others, already on fire for Him, there's more! He wants us to experience a greater depth of His person.

Whatever your situation, make that decision to draw closer to Him day by day, whatever the cost. And, by His grace, Jesus will, in turn, come to meet you and generate a divine dance of love between Him and you that no one can stop. Hallelujah!

Hope & Inspiration: Now that you have begun (again) to deepen your relationship with Jesus, I invite you to continue this path by receiving a free inspirational text by email every Sunday that I've written for you to start your God-filled week; sign up by clicking here.

Jean-Luc Trachsel