In the previous entry () we saw that coming to Christ cannot be equated to any physical action. What does it mean, then, to come to Christ? The same as believing in Him (comp. Jn. 6:35, 37-40).
Both expressions are interchanged in the Scriptures because they both mean the same thing. Although we could say that the expression “coming to Christ” is more descriptive and specific. Believing in Christ is a more general term, coming to Christ is a more specific term.
There are three elements involved in this coming to Christ, but for now we will only consider the first of them: the recognition of a need that only Christ can fill: “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden,” says the Lord, and I I will give rest” (Matt. 11:28).
Who are invited? Those who perceive the fatigue and spiritual burden in their hearts, those who are aware of their need. It is impossible to come to Christ if we do not possess that awareness that we are people in need.
“Come, all you thirsty, come to the waters!” (Is. 55:1). Not everyone is invited, only the thirsty.
Jn. 7:37 “On the last great day of the feast, Jesus stood up and raised his voice saying, If anyone is thirsty, come to me and drink.” Once again, who is invited to come? The one who is thirsty The one who perceives the need for him.
Rev. 22:17, the last invitation of the Scriptures: “…he who thirsts, come. Whoever wants, let him take the water of life freely ”. Anyone who wants can come, but who will? Those who are thirsty No one will want to come to Christ unless he is thirsty.
Just as thirst is a need that is perceived at a conscious level, and that only water or something liquid can supply, so is the thirst of the soul. We can offer a check for a million pesos to a man in the Sahara who has not tasted a drop of water for two days, and that will not fill his need. What he needs at that moment is water, and what he wants with all the strength of his heart is not a check, but water. It is a very specific need that is perceived at a conscious level and that only something specific can supply.
And now the Lord says to His audience: “if anyone here present perceives the spiritual need of his soul, that need that only I can fill, let him come to Me and he will be satisfied.”
No one can come to Christ until they perceive that need of the soul, that deep emptiness, and above all that burden and weariness that produce a guilty conscience, the recognition that we have sinned gravely against God and that because of our sins we are irretrievably lost.
It is of that thirst and that weariness that Christ speaks of in these texts. All men without Christ are tired and thirsty, but not all perceive it on a conscious level, and that is why not all come. The first thing God does to draw a sinner to Christ is to show him a need for him, a need that nothing and no one except Christ can supply (cf. Jn. 16:8-11).
The Lord once said that the healthy do not need a doctor, but the sick do. If we do not perceive the disease, how can we diligently search for the medicine that can cure it?
The issue is not whether you have ever raised your hand in an evangelistic campaign and come forward in a church, or whether you have had some kind of mystical experience connected with the name “Jesus.”
If you have never seen yourself as a miserable sinner going to hell and living an empty and meaningless life, if you feel satisfied with yourself, you have never come to Christ.
I cannot deny your experience, but I can tell you on the authority of Scripture that whatever you experienced was not coming to Christ, and therefore you continue to be lost.
But if you have perceived that need, if you feel spiritually hungry and thirsty, worked and burdened by the weight of a guilty conscience, do not despair, because that is the first step to come to Christ, and He can fully supply your need.
© By Sugel Michelen. All thought captive. You can reproduce and distribute this material, as long as it is not for profit, without altering its content and acknowledging its author and origin.