Come and see

Scripture: John 1:35-38

“The next day as John stood there again with two of his disciples, Jesus went past, and John looked towards him and said, 'Look, there is the lamb of God.' And the two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. Jesus turned round, saw them following and said, 'What do you want?' They answered, 'Rabbi' -- which means Teacher -- 'where do you live?' He replied, 'Come and see'; so they went and saw where he lived, and stayed with him that day. It was about the tenth hour.”

My Reactions: What first struck me about this text is that the disciples (Andrew and Peter) didn’t answer Jesus’ question. They didn’t say “We want to find the meaning of life” or “We want eternal happiness”, but they answered his question with the question “Where do you live?” Perhaps they didn’t know exactly what they were seeking, but they knew something was lacking. Perhaps they knew that just being with this man would provide them with what they wanted. In any case, Jesus issued this invitation to them, and to me in my meditation: “Come and see.”

So I imagined that I went to the room where Jesus was staying. There we had a wonderful conversation about what it is that I’m seeking. Like the disciples, I know something is lacking, and I know the Lord can provide it, though I’m kind of fuzzy on the details. For now, I know that I desire a deeper personal relationship with my Lord. And that’s what ensued for the next hour or so. I poured out my deepest feelings to Jesus, and felt He was pleased with my openness and my trust. And the response I heard from Jesus was this: That I would always find comfort, direction, and fulfillment when I go to where the Lord is staying and linger there for a while. If I remain in the Lord, He will remain in me.