Come and See...

“Come and see…”

These words often precede many hilarious situations in life. These were often the first words uttered by my friends that introduced some of my most hilarious memories from college: “Come and see the huge swimming pool we made in the shower room.” “Come and see the bucking bronco we built in the common room. Wanna be the first to ride it?” “Come and see the skateboard ramp we built out of bunk beds in the hallway.” (Ok, actually that was me... and it wasn't a very clothed activity...Welcome to my college experience...)

Yet this phrase also serves as a prelude to some of the most important or serious things in life as well. “Come and see your new baby daughter.” “Come and see your grandfather for the last time.” “Come and see me, because I am lonely.”

These words can introduce some of the most important moments that we will ever encounter. “Come and see…” It reminds us that there are important things going on in the world, things that we must pay attention to. It requires that we move and act, that we escape from our comfort zone. The word “come” requires us to move from where we are to somewhere else. And we are called to open our eyes, to focus on reality, and see the important things in life. “Come and see” is the prelude to the most important of life’s events.

The greatest movement in the world began with these words. In John 1, John the Baptist tells his disciples that Jesus of Nazareth is the Lamb of God and the one they have been waiting for. Two of his disciples go running up to Jesus to talk to him. They want to know more about this Teacher; they want to hear the things he has to say and understand his teaching. Rather than teaching them or discussing his religious philosophy, Jesus simply tells them, “Come… and you will see.” (John 1:39) At the end of the day these two disciples are so excited that they run off and tell their friends “We have found the Messiah.” Simply by coming along and spending time with Jesus, they have discovered the truth about who he is and their lives will never be the same.

We, too, have been called to come and see. For many of us, this is the reason we became a Christian: we saw the lives of those who followed Christ and we were enamored or intrigued by what we saw. Our job as Christians is simply to be followers of Christ, to spend time with him and see how he changed the world, and then to let that change the core of who we are. Then we, too, can go out and tell others, “Come and see… this man is the one we’ve been waiting for!"