'Into Your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me,
O LORD, the God of truth.' Psalm 31:5
I have the privilege of monitoring an email prayer
chain for the ladies of our church. I have been doing
it for many years now, and I do enjoy it. We have prayed
together over many broken hearts, health issues, deaths,
financial problems, our children and husbands. You name
it, chances are we've prayed over it! Including our pets!
But I received an email recently to pray for a gentleman
who is very ill. He has been battling various forms of
cancer in different parts of his body for several years
now. Different treatment options are being looked at. But
what really caught my attention was the very last part of
this precious lady's email...'He is ready to go meet Jesus...
if asked.'
Now, I've read alot of prayer requests over the years, and
many have had wonderful thoughts put into words, and whole
ranges of emotions have been displayed. There has been
evidence of tears in between the lines, and there have been
praises dotting every spare inch of the page.
But never has a sentence grabbed my heart, and my imagination,
in such a way as those nine words.
If asked...would I go willingly? If asked...would I quake with
fear? If asked...would I realize the magnitude of an invite from
my King?
The more I think about this, the more I understand how marvelous
an invitation from Jesus Himself would be. Surely it would arrive
by special messenger, probably seated on a beautiful white horse,
draped in crimson and gold and just simply glorious to see. When
presented, the invitation itself would be in a fine white envelope,
and would be situated on a velvet pillow of purple, with gold fringe
all around it. The invitation itself, once I picked it up, would
undoubtedly be printed on the finest, whitest paper ever made. And
the letters would be beautiful script, lovely to gaze upon, and
probably the fanciest writing I've ever seen!
But it would be the words themselves, and the message they bring,
that would be the most grand thing about the invitation. "You have
been invited to come and live in My guest house, a mansion on a
hill, which has a street of gold in front of it. You will enjoy a
fine dinner with Me, and all my children, and the music and singing
that will be all around us will be beautiful and sweet. The light
in the area will be crisp, and clean, and lovely; it will be the
brightest light you have ever seen, but it will not hurt your eyes.
I will even provide fine linen gowns for you to wear, and I guarantee
that all of the guests will be kind and generous, and happy to see you.
Yes, my child, I am inviting you to come and meet me. Please RSVP, and
you will make me the happiest Father ever. I will send a golden chariot
to pick you up, but my hand will already hold yours,and my arms will
hold you up and steady you as you travel to my home.I look forward
to seeing you, soon. Please accept this invitation."
Mercy me, how my mind wanders! But wouldn't it be just like God to
present us with such a fancy invitation? Well, now that I think about
it, perhaps I am wrong....
The reality is this...He has already issued me the invitation. He went
to a cross on a lonely hill, and He gave His life that I might live.
He was still working and touching lives as He gave His up. He saved the
thief on the cross next to Him. He was thinking about all of us as He
hung there, dying, suffering. He always had us on His mind.
I can think of no grander invite that I have ever received. White paper
couldn't make it any better. Lovely script writing couldn't either. A
chariot coming to get me? In the blink of an eye, I will be there! No
need for the chariot! Jesus has said that He went to make a place for us,
that where He is we can be there too. There...that is all the invitation
I need!
I have already RSVP'd. I professed my faith publicly, I was baptized, I
have studied His word, and I have learned to walk in faith. I think the
King knows by now that I am on my way!
Would you RSVP today? If you have already done so, I can't wait to meet
you at that fancy, smancy dinner! But if you have not...I so want to see
you there! Just take that step, tell Him you believe on Him, who He is,
and what He did for you. Then ask Him into your heart. You will have a
name card on that dining table. We can sit and talk about what He did
in our lives...and the lives of others.
I thank the sweet lady who sent the email. It has touched my heart in
a very special way. I hope it has touched yours. I just love the idea
that this man who is suffering so much, considers it a privilege and
an honor to go meet Jesus...and I'm sure he means that when Jesus shows
up and holds out His hand for him..in this way he is being asked. But
Jesus already has that reservation in His possession. It's a done deal!
Yes...I guess I am saying that I will go and meet Jesus. He did ask,
and I have accepted His invite. I am ready. Are you?
Blessings!
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