Morning, December 16
Go To Evening Reading
“Come unto me.”
Matthew 11:28
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.”