Even so, come Lord Jesus

He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming quickly." Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! – Revelation 22v20

I try to imagine what it was like for John when he wrote these words. He was an old man now, probably in his 90s. It had been more that fifty years since the angels had told him and the others that Jesus was coming back. Jesus had promised to be with them no matter what happened.

A lot had happened since then. History, admittedly with some tradition, tells us that he had at some point been dipped in boiling oil as persecution for his faith. He had been exiled to Patmos for being a Christian. He had seen the intense persecution of the church. Thousands of believers had died at the hands of Rome. By the year 100 things were pretty much a mess for the Church.

And where was Jesus? Why wasn’t He coming back? Here Jesus tells John, ‘I am coming quickly.’ If that was the case, where was here? Almost two thousand years later we might be tempted to wonder where He is now.

I was doing some reading on St Patrick who came to Ireland in the 5th century to preach the gospel. In his Confession he gives something of his spiritual background and beliefs. At one point he writes, ‘We look for the soon advent of our Saviour.’ John wrote 70 years after Jesus left, Patrick wrote another 400 years later, and all through time Christians have waited for His return and looked for His coming.

Well, where is He? Our problem is that we think and operate in a different realm than He does. He works out time. He is coming, and it will be in His perfect time. In the sense to eternity what is two thousand years? There is no such thing as ‘too long’ in the scope of eternity.

No matter what we can still echo John’s words. Few reading these words will have it as bad as John did, but life is tough at times. My physical life is not bad. I have a nice place to live; I have clothes to wear and food to eat. I have far more than I need when it comes to ‘stuff.’

Still though, I can relate to John’s words. It is not that my living is that bad. The worst thing about my living is that I have to live with me. My wicked flesh still cries out and demands attention. I can blame the world all I want. I can blame Satan all I want, but I can’t to anything about them. I can only deal with my own flesh, and I am tired of living with it and fighting it.

Who can deliver me from my flesh? Only Jesus.

Even so, please come Lord Jesus.