The Son Receives

…I will never cast out.John 6:37When you move toward Jesus, He is there for you, ready to receive you. He won’t drive you away. The word comes is in the present continuous tense. “Whoever is coming.” “Whoever is on the way.” Think of the prodigal son on his way home. He hasn’t arrived yet, but he’s on the way.If you are stirred with some sense of your own need today, if you feel drawn to Christ, you can be sure that the Son of God sees you coming. His arms are stretched out to receive you. He says to you, “I won’t drive you away.” You have every reason for hope in Jesus Christ today.Use this as an incentive in coming to Jesus. We don’t know how fast the prodigal son walked back to the Father, but he may have walked slowly. He probably expected a long lecture on wasted money and wasted years. Maybe that’s one reason he stayed away so long. But now he is desperate, so with his head hanging he begins the long trudge home.Put yourself in his shoes. You expect to be raked over the coals, and you hear a voice calling your name. You look up and your father is running toward you—his arms reaching out, tears running down his face. When you see that, you will run too.When you see the love of God, you will gather the courage to repent. As you come to Christ, look ahead of you. You will see the outstretched arms of Jesus. “Whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” Once you have come to Jesus, look back and see, look back and see the eternal love of the Father, who gave you and drew you to the Son. “All that the Father gives me will come to me” (6:37).Do you need to look ahead or look back today?