"When God gives the radical change of new birth and repentance, Jesus himself becomes our supreme treasure." (John Piper) There are a million things in this world that demand our attention. Our health. Our job. Our family. Our friends. Our hobbies. Sports, music, food, sex, alcohol, drugs, social media. Our smart phones buzz every time a new message comes in...demanding our immediate attention. The urgencies of this life somehow become our emergencies and we find ourselves driven to distraction. In the midst of all this chaos, the voice of Jesus insistently and persistently cuts through, "Come to me", he says. "Come to me."
What does Jesus offer that the world does not? He offers joy. "I have spoken to you...that your joy may be full." He offers rest. "Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." He offers life. "Come to me that you may have life." We have this crazy notion that coming to Jesus means having to give things up. Like there will be a loss. We have believed the lie that sin is fun and exciting whereas righteousness is somehow boring. And yet everything in the human experience demonstrates otherwise.
When we seek our fulfillment in anything or anyone other than Jesus, we end up disappointed. Discouraged. Unfulfilled. Hurt. Broken. I think of the young lady I know who cuts because her life is so numb she just wants to feel something...anything. I think of the young man I know who pursues sexual satisfaction in pornography and relationships with women. I think of the man who uses alcohol to escape the pressures of this world. Or the woman who takes the prescription drugs in search of that high that will make her forget her cares and worries for a while. I think of the man who finds his fulfillment in professional success only to have his career stall out. I think of the woman who chases wealth only to watch it disappear on the whims of the stock market. I think of the man who works for the weekend where he can go to the big game or take the boat out on the lake only to have to wake up Monday morning and do it all over again. No matter what we seem to chase, it never quite brings the satisfaction we desire.
All the while Jesus is waiting, arms wide open, saying, "Come to me." If anyone thirsts...come to me. If anyone is hungry...come to me. If anyone is seeking...come to me. If anyone is searching...come to me. Furthermore, he tells this stories of a woman searching her whole house for a lost coin. Of a shepherd searching all over for a lost sheep. Of a father running to his lost sons to bring them home. The picture we have of Jesus is not of a God who stands - disapprovingly - up on a high mountain waiting for us to work our way to the summit. The picture we have is of a frantic father or mother searching the whole world for his or her lost children. Of a paramedic who moves heaven and earth to get to the scene of a crash. Of the firefighter running into the burning building to save those who are in danger. "Come to me", Jesus says.
Yes, it is a demand. Just like a lifeguard "demands" a drowning person grab hold of the lifebuoy. Just like a police officer "demands" a grief-stricken man come down from the bridge where he is about to jump. Just as the doctor "demands" we take the medicine that will save our lives. So what is it that makes this "demand" seem so hard? The reason coming to Jesus is hard is NOT because Jesus is hard! It is because this world is a hard place to treasure Jesus above all! As a species, we seem bent on self-destruction. We have these suicidal tendencies that seem to drive us. But Jesus wants to deliver us from all of that. As Piper writes, "When we come to him, he is the burden-lifter, the soul-satisfier, and the life-giver."
I still remember hearing Jesus' voice as a young college student on the campus of the University of Colorado. I was chasing the things of this world. I was living the life the world describes as fun and rewarding. But it was empty. I was empty. Then Jesus ambushed me with these words, "Come to me", and my life has never been the same. Jesus opened my eyes so I could see him as my supreme treasure and the rest of my life - valuable as it was - faded into the background. Here I am over twenty years later and I can tell you that Jesus continues to dominate the horizon of my life. He is everything to me.