We encounter pressure from others, such as demanding parents and teachers and those who scorn us if we don’t accept their ideas. Note that God does not force us to do things. Despite extreme consequences for us rejecting God, sinning and going our own way, God never makes us do the right thing.
God makes invitations. We are invited to do right, over and over again. We are always left with the choice.
Christ knocks at the door of our heart. We must open to Him. He will not kick down the door.
“I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door I will come in to him, and sup with him, and he with me.” Rev 3:20
There is also the wider cry to everyone, inviting each of us to come to Christ and receive rest from Him.
“Come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Mat 11:28
God offers us things we can’t get ourselves. We are spiritually bankrupt, without any capacity to buy the things that have true value. Yet, despite our inability to pay, God invites us to receive the things we truly need, without having to have the money.
“Ho, every one that thirsts, come to the waters, and he that has no money; come, buy, and eat; yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” Is 55:1
These invitations confirm each other, as invitations not demands. We will face terrible consequences if we do not have Christ as our saviour, but God does not compel us to accept Christ. It is always an invitation.
Jesus not only offers us eternal salvation, to be enjoyed in heaven, but the very present power of the Holy Spirit in our lives on earth. This filling with the Holy Spirit is what empowered the early church to turn the world upside down, and empowered all the miracles of Jesus.
And the Holy Spirit is offered to all people who will accept salvation through Christ. It is the inheritance of all of God’s children. Jesus made a very public call to the people to receive the Holy Spirit through Him.
“On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, Streams of living water will flow from his innermost being. He was speaking about the Spirit.” Jn 7:37-39
Here we see a wonderful promise given, not as a lure, but as a statement of fact. There is great blessing in responding to God’s invitation and receiving Christ. This is not the tacky offer of a salesman trying to coerce you to buy what you don’t want. Christ offers us the most amazing value in all eternity, full of wonderful blessings in this life and the next.
Yet, among Christians it is still commonplace to find people who accept Christ yet still resist the ongoing wooing voice of the Lord.
The invitation is not simply for salvation, but for a life of ever becoming more like Christ.
Note how that verse about Christ at the door was directed to Christians, not to the unsaved. So there is a fresh stream of invitation coming to us from the Lord, prompting us to go deeper with Him and to receive more of what He has for us.
We also have a picture from the Song of Solomon of the husband visiting his wife and her finding his arrival inconvenient.
“I sleep, but my heart wakes: it is the voice of my beloved that knocks, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night.” Song 5:2
The wife replies that she has already gone to bed and washed her feet. She reflects a self-focused attitude about her own inconvenience.
“I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?” Song 5:3
Many a Christian is happy with the level of relationship they have with God and resists growing deeper in their walk with Him. It is rare to find a Christian who is enjoying an ever deepening relationship with God.
The husband put his hand to the latch, and at that glimpse of him the wife is moved.
“My beloved put his hand to the latch, and my heart was thrilled within me.” Song 5:4
So the wife finally responds and rises to open the door. However her beloved has departed. This leads her to go searching for him.
This tussle of human tardiness to respond to God’s wooing is not uncommon. Our selfishness and desire for the familiar and secure, keep us resisting God’s call to go deeper into the things of the Spirit and the heavenly wonders we can access.
We also have our comfort in mind. We like the familiarity and security of our pattern of life.
However, the best things in life are still waiting for you. They are the things of God’s Kingdom still waiting to be explored. They are the things of an ever deepening relationship with God and an ever more glorious revelation of Christ in you.
However those things will never be forced on you. You must choose to respond to God and accept His invitation.
I urge you to stop resisting God and to yield to Christ’s invitations that are Wooing Your Heart.
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