THE INVITATION

This Word reminds us that there is only one Eternal City. As the barbarians scaled the walls of his beloved city, Augustine wept and penned The City of God. No, Rome was not the eternal city. As Athens sowed the seeds of its own destruction, Socrates chose to drink the hemlock rather than give up his pursuit of the virtuous. In England Wordsworth wept for the return of Milton to address the loss of England’s heroic character. Jesus wept at the sight of His be–loved city and said, “If you . . . had only known on this day what would bring you peace but now it is hidden from your eyes” (Luke 19:42).

Rome, Athens, and Jerusalem have all lost their ancient glory. To–day our alabaster cities have become tarnished, and with eyes dimmed by tears we cry, “Deliver us from evil.” But that deliverance can come only if we respond to the Creator’s loving invitation:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matt.11:28–29)

Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! . . . Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. (Isa.ss:I–3)

If we can say, with King David, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God,” our deliverance is at hand.[1]

[1] Ravi Zacharias, Deliver Us from Evil: Restoring the Soul in a Disintegrating Culture (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1998).