Rev. Ray and Pat Amos
Compel Them to Come
“And the lord said unto the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.” Luke 14:23.
“Compel them to come…” Compel is a word that we seemed to have dropped it from the church vocabulary. I suppose that is because it implies dragging someone into the Kingdom while they are kicking and screaming. It is more about the depth of God’s love. The Lord compels us to come because He loves us, and because we need Him.
Some people are easily drawn to Jesus, others resist with great strength. C. S. Lewis wrote of the unrelenting approach of Christ on his life. He told of the one that he “so earnestly desired not to meet.” Finally, he surrendered to what he could no longer deny, and in his own words, He was “surprised by joy.”
“How long will you kick against me?” That was the question Jesus asked Saul of Tarsus. Later Paul would write, “Everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Philippians 3:8.
Many good friendships started with someone resisting it at first. Then came the discovery that love was greater than the objections. I have even known pets and their owners who started out with a scratch, or a growl, but now they are inseparable friends. How much more this can be true in a relationship with Jesus.
“Cause I’ll be by your side wherever you fall
In the dead of night whenever you call
And please don’t fight these hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you.”
Grace and Peace, Rev Ray
