Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

Come

“’Come, follow me,’ Jesus said.” Matthew 4v19

Jesus said “Come” to many people. But Greek has a more than one word which translates into English as “come”. The one here really means “Come in close.” Jesus is calling us into a closeness with him, to be right beside him. It is not so much a call for direction as a call for intimacy. It is a call into his close friendship circle.

It is the same word that Jesus uses when he says,

• “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11v28), and
• “Come and have breakfast” (John 21v12).

Jesus is calling you in close, to “eat” with him and to be refreshed with him.

I recall when I was back in business that when the Global Quality Director (an American) called meetings to deal with big quality issues, he named them, “Come to Jesus meetings.” He was conveying the view that coming to Jesus was all about confessing our sins. But coming to Jesus is about so much more than that!

Jesus does not want you to be distant, no, he counts you as his friend (“You are my friends if you do what I command” John 15v14). He wants to live life with you and you to live life with him.

Are you close to Jesus today? If not, Jesus invites you in and also says, “Seek and you will find.”

With love and blessing,

Roland