The
Three Invitations of Christ - Part 1
Again and
again in the Bible men and women are graciously invited to enter into personal
fellowship with God. Someone has said that the Bible is a book of invitations
from God to mankind, urging us to become His partners in redeeming the world.
The
first invitation is an invitation to rest.
Jesus said,
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Since the early dawn of mankind’s
history, when our
Divorce, alcoholism and immorality are direct results of the restlessness of
sin. This diabolical unrest has permeated our nation like a contagious disease
and has become the underlying cause of domestic, community and social problems.
The basic cause of our national immorality is this spiritual unrest in people’s
lives today.
Christ could solve the problems of the many celebrities who have made headlines
because of their marital difficulties. If the principals in a domestic brawl
were to accept Christ, not only would their sins be forgiven, but Christ would
help them solve their problems. A love that has apparently gone dead between
husband and wife could be rekindled.
Psychologists, schooled in the intricate workings of the mind, are confessing
that psychology is helpless to solve all of the mental and nervous disturbances
of people today. Sociologists, trained in the interactions of society, are
admitting that sociology cannot cope with the tremendous problems in human
relationships.
Political leaders point out the moral ills of our nation, but none of them seem
to have an answer to the desperate need for a new moral integrity that would
reverse the moral plunge that we are taking. Many political leaders privately
admit that they are unable to cope with the seriousness of the moral dilemma.
In my travels I have sensed unrest in almost every phase of our modern-day
living. This changeable, unsettled, roving, transient, sleepless and fidgety
spirit is due primarily to the restlessness of the human heart and its
separation from the Christ of tranquillity and peace.
These insecure individuals could find spiritual peace and physical rest by
surrendering their lives to Jesus Christ.
The Bible says, “The wicked are like the troubled sea, When
it cannot rest, Whose waters cast up mire and dirt” (Isaiah 57:20). “In the
morning you shall say, ‘Oh, that it were evening!’ And
at evening you shall say, ‘Oh, that it were morning!’” (Deuteronomy 28:67).
Every day I come in contact with mixed-up, paradoxical men and women: rich
people who are held in the grip of insecurity; intellectual people who have
lost their way; strong people who live in fear of weakness and defeat. I long
to take every one of them by the hand and lead them into the presence of the
Savior who said, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest.”
Why die of thirst when you stand upon the brink of a lake? Why starve to death
when you are within arm’s length of the Living Bread? Why live in a hovel of
spiritual misery when Christ has provided a mansion of divine peace? Hear and
accept the divine invitation today: “Come unto me, and rest!”
But rest is not all that weary people need. Other invitations to happiness
await the distressed who will dare to follow Christ. (to
be continued)
David Jones
Taken from
Decision: BCGEA