Places to go, people to see. We’re on the run, dashing through the (snow? Please?) At the time of Christ’s coming, it seems we’re all going somewhere.
Do you know the feeling? As you grab your keys and try to balance your stuff in hand while you scramble out the door, the sense of going pushes you and stresses you out. It’s not until you’re almost there that you being to feel more like you are coming than going.
When you’re halfway there, you begin to feel drawn instead of propelled. You feel invited, not obligated. Once the “going” is done, the “coming” begins, and the journey takes on a forward-facing purpose.
It’s no surprise that Jesus says:
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
-John 14:6
To go to God is to map out one’s own way. To go implies that He is removed, far, or shifting. But to come is to be led along. Coming means following a path and accepting an invitation. In coming, we arrive not as the lost, but as the found.
Christ came. With his whole focus on being here with us, the Messiah came as the prophecies foretold. Christ is known for coming by the Holy Spirit and coming through a woman. He is known for coming as a lowly baby and for coming specifically to Bethlehem. When coming as a king, He came riding a donkey colt.
Every disciple He called he came to find. Each town He stopped in He came to, not stumbling by accident on the way or going as a matter of course. Christ was always coming alongside, coming to, and coming for.
The Shepherds and the wise men in their praise were comers. Mary and Joseph were blessed by the coming of their son. They came to Bethlehem to deliver the King.
We are blessed by that same coming, and we can emulate the beauty of it by, ourselves, coming.
Come to the manger. Come to the celebration. Come to the cross.
“The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.”
–Revelation 22:17
Don’t wait to be pushed and to hurry last minute. Don’t just go, with your mind focusing on what you’ve left instead of what you approach. Come, and behold Him!
Behold, the one has come for us.
Behold, the one who is coming for us.
Behold, the one to whom we never “go” as lost, but always “come” to, found.