"Lord, send a great revival!" It continues to be a frequent prayer on the lips of many devout followers of Jesus. It expresses a heart's yearning. Sometimes it is yearning for by-gone days, rekindling memories of past experiences. Sometimes it is yearning for a spiritual warming in our own hearts personally. Regardless, it is an affirmation that everything is not as it should be. It is a statement of the intuitive knowledge that there is more to the Christian life than we are presently living, that there is more to church life than we are experiencing. We are not receiving all that God has for us. Some traditions address this dilemma by scheduling revival services, or evangelistic campaigns. Ironically, even the most dynamic and exciting events, fail to make a long term difference in our lives. Why is that? It could be that we just don't pray enough, or that we are not serious enough, devoted enough, or there is hidden sin in our lives. No matter. The bottom line is that it is our fault, not God's. It leaves us with a grim outlook and the intolerable burden of fixing what is broken in our lives.
However, what if there is another solution? Could it be, that God has really made available everything necessary for salvation? That even now it is at our fingertips? Scripture teaches us that He has. What if what we really need is simply more grace? more of the presence of Jesus in our lives? Could it be, that we are in fact, saved by grace through faith, and that we are weak and sickly in our Christian walk because we are neglecting the ordinary means of receiving God's grace? The Apostle Paul said so in his letter to the church at Corinth. (1 Corinthians 11:27-30) Sure you might need to be more disciplined in your prayer life, more devoted in your scriptural study, but the real problem cannot be fixed by trying harder. You cannot pay for what is freely given. We need more of Jesus, more of his grace working in our lives.
Are you hungry for more of God's presence in your life? need more grace? Jesus has extended his invitation to you. He said, "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood, abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me...He who eats this bread will live forever." (John 6:56-58) It was Jesus himself, who said, this "bread is my body", and this "wine is my blood." Maybe it is time you came back to his table.
