The cry of the Christian faith is the gentle word: "Come."

The Jewish law spoke harshly: "Go! Watch every step you take. Break the commandments and you perish; keep them and you live." The law was a dispensation of terror that drove men before it with a scourge. But the gospel? The gospel draws us with bands of love.

Jesus is the good Shepherd who goes before his sheep, calling them to follow, ever leading them onward with that sweet invitation: "Come." The law repels—the gospel attracts! The law shows the distance between God and man. The gospel bridges that awful chasm and brings the sinner across.

From the very first moment of your spiritual life until you are ushered into glory, Christ's language to you will always be the same: "Come. Come unto me." Picture a mother reaching out her finger to her little child, wooing the child to walk. "Come," she says. Even so does Jesus! He will always be ahead of you, bidding you follow like a soldier follows his captain. He goes before you to pave your way, to clear your path. And all through your life, you shall hear his animating voice calling you after him.

And when death comes? When that solemn hour arrives? The sweet words that shall usher you into the heavenly world will be these: "Come, ye blessed of my Father."

Nay, further—this is not only Christ's cry to you. If you be a believer, this is your cry to Christ! "Come! Come!" You will be longing for his second advent, saying, "Come quickly, even so come Lord Jesus!" You will be panting for nearer and closer communion with him.

As his voice calls to you, "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."