When voices of influence contradict each other and you don’t know whom to trust, you have a standing invitation from God: “Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord” (Psalm 34:11).

When you feel like an orphan because no one resembles you in your values and you can’t relate to the way other people approach life, you have a standing invitation to be part of God’s family: “Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord” (Isaiah 2:5).

When God gets tough with you because he doesn’t want to lose you and you push him away out of sheer frustration, you have a standing invitation to embrace him again: “Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds” (Hosea 6:1).

When you think all roads lead nowhere because you’ve already taken them there, you have a standing invitation from God to find a new direction for your life: “‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said” (Matthew 4:19).

When it seems like it will all end badly and there’s nothing to look forward to, you have a standing invitation to the big reunion of the saints: “Come, gather together for the great supper of God” (Revelation 19:17).  

There is etiquette for responding to God’s gracious invitations. Simply say, “O Lamb of God, I come. I come.”