Come, Lord Jesus
The pilgrim home
The Bible ends, and our long journey of formation ends, with an exchange of longing between Christ and his people. He who testifies to these things says, Surely I am coming quickly. And from the heart of the waiting church rises the answer that gathers up all hope: Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The last word of Scripture is a longing for the One toward whom the whole journey has led.
Look back over the road we have traveled. From the awakening of the soul, through surrender and the discovery of the Father's love; through the disciplines and the pathways, into the interior castle and union with God; through the tempter's strategy and the dark valley; through the death of self and Christ formed within; formed together with others, poured out in the active life, and pressing on at last toward the Celestial City. The whole pilgrimage of formation has been, from first to last, a being shaped for Christ and drawn toward him.
And it does not truly end here; it opens out into eternity. For the goal of all formation was never a finished program but a Person — Christ himself, known, loved, and at last seen face to face. So let the final word of the journey be the final word of Scripture, the cry of every pilgrim near the City: Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. He is coming quickly, and the grace of the Lord Jesus is with you all the way home. The seeking of his face gives way, at the last, to the sight of it; and the pilgrim, formed for this all along, is finally, gloriously home.
“He who testifies these things says, Yes, I come quickly. Amen! Come, Lord Jesus.”
— The risen Christ and the church — Revelation 22:20 (WEB)
Let the final cry of the journey be the final cry of Scripture — Amen, come, Lord Jesus — longing for the Person who was the goal of all your formation, all the way home.
“The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.”
We can treat formation as a program to be completed, missing that its goal was always a Person — Christ himself, to be known, loved, and seen face to face. The interior work, as the journey ends, is to gather all its longing into the church's final cry, Come, Lord Jesus, recognizing that the whole pilgrimage has been a shaping for Christ and a drawing toward him, and that it opens not into a finish line but into eternity with him.
Look back over the whole journey and forward to its true end: name how Christ has shaped you across these stages, and make the final word your own — Amen, come, Lord Jesus — living each remaining day as a pilgrim near the City, longing for him and walking home in his grace.
How easily a finished journey hardens into a closed program, or simply fades, until the longing that was its whole point goes quiet and Christ slips to the edge of memory. But formation was never a course to complete — it was a Person to love, and the soul shaped for him takes up the last cry of Scripture, Come, Lord Jesus, and finds the road still open, leading all the way home.
The Bible ends, and our year-long journey of formation ends, with an exchange of longing: Christ says, Surely I am coming quickly, and the waiting church answers, Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. Look back over the whole road — the awakening and the surrender, the Father's love and the means of grace, the interior castle and the dark valley, the death of self and Christ formed in you, the life formed together and poured out, and the long press toward the City. From first to last, it has all been a shaping of the soul for Christ and a drawing of it toward him.
And the journey does not truly end; it opens into eternity, because its goal was never a finished program but a Person — Christ himself, known and loved and at last seen face to face. The seeking of his face, where the deeper journey began, gives way to the sight of it. So let the final word of the journey be the final word of Scripture, the cry of every pilgrim near the City: Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. He is coming quickly, and his grace is with you, all the way home.
- Has my formation been, from first to last, a being shaped for Christ?
- Is the Person of Christ — known, loved, seen face to face — the true goal of it all?
- Can I make the final cry my own: Amen, come, Lord Jesus?
Lord Jesus, the whole journey has been a shaping of my soul for you and a drawing of it toward you. You say, Surely I am coming quickly. With the whole waiting church I answer: Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. Let your grace be with me all the way home, until seeking your face gives way to seeing it, and I am finally, gloriously home with you. Amen.