How Do We Come to God?
The entire Bible is the story of a searching, loving God who is not willing for us to remain lost, lifeless, or alone, so He came to us. Christmas means God has given us nothing less than Himself, and His name is Jesus Christ. So how do we come to God, and what happens when we do?
The Invitation to "Come"
The Christmas season is a celebratory season filled with gathering and community. December is a wonderful time to remind your loved ones that you care about them. It’s also an opportunity to extend invitation to share and gather.
"Come to our party."
"Come see our lights at the zoo or botanic gardens."
"Come see our church's special Christmas performance."
Heaven also embraces the joyful spirit of invitation and participation. God wants all of us to come. He wants everyone to be included in all that this season represents. So God says to everyone, "Please, come to me—it won't be the party that it could be without you."
The key word is "come."
The entire Bible is the story of a searching, loving God who is not willing for us to remain lost, lifeless, or alone, so He came to us.
God, our Father, formerly delivered His message through others called prophets, made a personal surprise visit to the world when Jesus came. Christmas means God has given us nothing less than Himself, and His name is Jesus Christ.
When God wanted to show us that He cared, He came in person. The Incarnation is the Grand Miracle of Christianity! The message of Christmas in a few words might read: "I came for you," said Jesus.
"For God so loved the world…" that He came for every child, teenager, and adult, male and female. He came for the rich and the poor, the educated and uneducated, the employed and the unemployed, for the down and out and the up and out. For the hurting and the healthy. He came for whosoever would come to Him.
God's Incarnation Brought God's Invitation
With God's Incarnation came God's Invitation: Come. This is God's invitation for Christmas.
"Come" is the message of Scripture, Old, and New. It's an action verb, the movement of our hearts, minds, and lives toward God.
In Isaiah 55:1-3 the word "come" appears five times. It begins with "Come, all you who are thirsty," which Jesus echoes in Revelation 22: "Whosoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the waters of life."
In John 6, we hear Jesus' invitation, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry.”
James, the half-brother of Jesus, writes: "Come near to God, and He will come near to you.” Some versions translate come near as draw near.
The Psalmist says, "In His presence, there is fullness of joy.” And hope, peace, and love. In Him are all the things our hearts long for. So God's invitation for Christmas is "Come."
God is the all-mighty, all-powerful, high and lifted up, and holy other, but His invitation to draw near means He is also approachable, accessible, and affectionate. I'm not sure if enough people see God this way!
Many people don't feel comfortable coming to God because they don't understand who He is and what He's like. Much like a barking dog when you ring the doorbell, they're afraid they will be barked at, bitten, or even swallowed if they come. They don't realize this all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present God has a relentlessly tender heart.
The power of God's compassion is in Him identifying with us so much that He wrapped Himself in a human body. In John 6, Jesus tells us, "Whoever comes to Me, I will never drive away." Jesus won't reject, cast out, spurn, scold, shame, or refuse. Instead, He will welcome.
If you feel you've taken your last step and lack the motivation, strength, or power to do anything in your life, Jesus says, "Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
The call of Christ is to relationship and rest, not a rigid religion of conformity without intimacy. For too long, the church has known the right things to say, but for many of us who feel empty, it's because we've substituted that intimate relationship with Christ that He has to offer. However, we must keep returning to Christ; it's not a one-time thing.
When we come to God, there is a movement of heart, mind, and will that moves our lives toward God and His presence daily. It's a supernatural movement in our lives.
Hebrews 4:16 says Jesus is our sympathetic High Priest who identifies with our weaknesses and invites us "to approach the throne of grace with confidence (not in trepidation) so that we receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
God's invitation for Christmas is "Come." He has more to give us than we can imagine. Christmas is God's invitation to receive some extraordinary gifts.
Five Steps to Coming to God
1) Come
The Holy Spirit awakens our longing to come to God and gives us the courage to do so.
2) Come As You Are
We often mistakenly think we can only come once we get ourselves together and start doing things right. We will never come if we think we must get ourselves together first. We must come as we are in this moment, and then Christ will give us the grace & strength to start getting things together.
As the old hymn reminds us:
Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because Thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come."
3) Come Now
I baptized my grandfather at the age of 75. When he came out of the water he told me, "I wish I came sooner!"
Come now; At this moment—right now—don't procrastinate!
Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection once said, "Do not come just because it is enjoyable. Do it because it is what God wants. If I was a preacher, the one thing I would preach about more than anything else is the practice of the presence of God. Please get started NOW. Come. I don't care how old you are. It is better late than never"
4) Come Closer
Advent is about being drawn closer and closer to God's heart. You can do nothing as a child of God to push Him away. When you are hurting, He wants to mend the wounds. He wants you to draw to Him for forgiveness when you've sinned. When we're lost, He wants to show us the path. However, we can't experience this without coming closer to God.
5) Come Always
The life of a child of God involves a perpetual coming to Christ. God has more for us than we could ever imagine. He desires for us to draw closer to Him. He's put a call on every life, and as a child of God, that involves a perpetual return to Christ. This will be a movement in our hearts, mind, and emotions. Everything about coming to God is who we are as believers.
What Happens When We Come to God?
1) Righteousness (Right Relationship)
Scripture makes it clear that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We've missed the mark. We lack the peace of God and peace with God because of our sins; we know it but often fail to admit it.
We all know the traditional rhyme, "Humpty-Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall." But a modern twist to the rhyme reflects some irresponsible thinking these days: "Humpty Dumpty was pushed." Paul says each of us has fallen on our own, "none is righteous, no, not one.” We haven't been pushed but are all personally guilty and can place the blame nowhere else but ourselves.
There is no way to be right with God without Jesus. He makes us righteous.
1 Corinthians 1 says, "It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God – that is, our righteousness (makes us right), holiness (makes us white as snow), and redemption (makes us free from sin's debt by purchasing us back with His blood)."
2) Daily Fellowship
We are meant for a life with God, To walk with, talk with, and experience God. We are meant for an intimate relationship with God that fulfills our deepest longings.
Listen to Jesus' invitation: "Here I am! I stand at the door (of your heart) and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with Him, and he with me." Our life is to be a feast of fellowship with God—Talk about a party! The Father extends His invitation, "Please come to my party!"
3) Eternal Life
Eternal life is not about duration (quantity) but the quality of life (limitless, abundant life) that includes the promise of forever. Eternal life is knowing Jesus Christ personally, up close as our absolute present and our absolute future – "This is eternal life: that they may know you…"
4) Fruitful Becoming
Life with God is so much more than forgiveness or going to heaven. Rather it's about becoming more like God in character. Life with God transforms our whole being by repeatedly falling in love with God.
Our world is fallen, gloomy, and overrun with personal crises. It's difficult not to lose hope when everything is falling apart. Brennan Manning once mentioned three ways we give up:
By taking our own lives.
By letting ourselves die.
By letting ourselves live without hope.
I think this is what Thoreau had in mind when he wrote, "The mass of people live lives of quiet desperation."
Those who've lost hope still live among us. They perform all the gestures and movements that we identify as human, but the fire inside of them has died. They've lost the vision. Their song is gone. They live as spectators, like travelers riding the mechanical sidewalk at the airport. They are along for the ride but have no idea why they're here or where they're going.
As a pastor, I see this in people's eyes and hear it in their voices all the time, and it breaks my heart. It is time to hear God's message: "Give ear and come to Me…"
God waits expectantly and enthusiastically for us to come home!
TL;DR
The entire Bible is the story of a searching, loving God who is not willing for us to remain lost, lifeless, or alone, so He came to us.
Christmas means God has given us nothing less than Himself, and His name is Jesus Christ.
The 5 Steps to Coming to God?
Come
Come as you are
Come now
Come closer
Come always
What happens when we come to God?
Righteousness
Daily fellowship
Eternal life
Fruitful becoming
Related Reading
How to Hear God’s Voice & Follow His Will by Rev. Paul Lawler
How Do We Find Hope in the Holidays by Rev. Jacky Gatliff
The Christmas Story Prologue by Bro. Chris Carter