COME AND SEE

 We lived in Alaska from 1993 to 1999.  One of things we discovered was that many people originally came to Alaska intending for it to be a short stay, only for a year or two, but they ended up making Alaska their home!   For many, Including me, once they experienced it, Alaska got in their blood; got into their hearts; got into their minds; got into their souls; got into the very fiber of their beings and, hence, they never left.  If I liked it so much then why did I leave you might ask?  Because I love my wife more than I love Alaska!  

 Alaska is one of the places where you cannot be sure just how you will feel about it until you have spent some significant time there.  The climate can be harsh; the days cloudy and drizzly; the winter days very short and dark; the summer months go by all too fast.  Reading books and brochures about it is simply not enough.  You have to enter that world, live in that world, and be open to the experience before you can know for sure.  When I interviewed before I accepted the call and we were considering it, the congregation said, “Come and see for yourself.  Risk it!”  You have to go and see and experience to really know! 

 Jesus, aware that a couple of John the Baptist’s disciples were tailing him, turns and asks, “What are you looking for?”  Not answering his question directly, but yet obviously intrigued, they inquired to where he was staying. Jesus then issues an invitation, “Come and see (and experience for yourself).”

 This little conversation, that the early Christian community through John chose to remember and record, is of great significance!  In my mind this story illustrates the first baby steps towards discipleship; the first steps towards naming Jesus LORD; Lord of your life; Lord of my life. 

 Acknowledging Jesus as SAVIOR and naming Jesus as LORD is not exactly the same thing.  They are like heads and tails of the same coin - inseparably connected, but not exactly the same. Savior and Lord: they belong together, but they each suggest something a little different.    

 When John identified Jesus as the “Lamb of God” it was a clear reference to Jesus as SAVIOR.  On the cross Jesus becomes the sacrificial lamb who takes away your sins and mine; the One who brings salvation as a free gift and makes relationship with God a possibility through faith.  Every obstacle between God and you has been removed by Jesus Christ on the cross: sin; death; guilt; all of it the Lamb of God has washed away in his broken body and shed blood, for you, for me, for the whole world.   Jesus is our Savior!

 But that’s not where it ends; that’s where it all begins.  Upon hearing from John the Baptist that Jesus was the Lamb of God, two of John’s disciples, one of which was Andrew, shadowed Jesus until Jesus invited them into his world, “Come and See.”   We’re told that they spent the day with him, and in the course of that day something incredible happened.  Andrew became so excited and so enthusiastic about the experience and about Jesus that he ran off and found his brother Simon to let him know.  I picture Andrew, out of breath like an excited child running to find his brother, “Simon, Simon, Simon, we have found the Messiah!  Come and see!”  The same invitation that Jesus issues to Andrew, Andrew was now extending to Simon.

 Of course, we know the rest of the story.  Once they started following, once they entered Jesus’ world they could not stop, even when they fell flat on their faces; failed miserably; made terrible choices; did the wrong things; said the wrong things; misunderstood Jesus; became overwhelmed by fear and selfishness – they still could not stop.  Once they entered Jesus’ world, they chose again and again to stay and see it through; to continue following – no matter what.  They could do no other.  They had been captured and captivated by this awesome man, the Lamb of God – not only their Savior, but their Lord!   

 I submit that this story illustrates and suggests the first baby steps of discipleship.   To be a disciple is to risk entering Jesus’ world, at his invitation, and name him as LORD. 

 Now, what do I mean exactly “enter Jesus’ world?”   I think too often we mistake following Jesus for bringing Jesus into our world.  What can happen is we domesticate him.  We end up making him look more like us that we look like him.  We make and mold Jesus into a champion of our causes.  We turn him into an advocate for our personal politics making Jesus a card carrying Republican or Democrat or whatever.  We make Jesus a champion of specific social and moral issues and sometimes use him like a club to beat other people up.  We dull the sharp edge of his radical call to love with our excuses and rationalizations, especially to love the undesirables, those on the margins and even our adversaries and enemies.   We water down and distort his teachings and warnings about the seductive lure of power, money and materialism so they become palatable to us, scarcely resembling what Jesus really said and taught.  Before you know it, the Jesus we are following is a Jesus of our own making - tame, domesticated, respectable, docile - not the radical Jesus of the New Testament who, with every breath he took, was on a mission of sweeping reconciliation and sacrificial love!

 “Come and see,” invited Jesus.  It’s an invitation into his world; into his kind of life; into his kind of living and loving and relating.   However, I must warn you.  You enter Jesus’ world at great risk because one of three things will happen to you. I guarantee it.   

• One, you may not like the climate and topography once you get there.  The demands of Jesus’ and his world may simply be too much; the pinnacles too high, the valleys to low and dark, the terrain to tough to navigate and the climate often disagreeable.  You may simply choose to return to a more mild and agreeable climate and topography.
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• Another possibility is that you may find there are many things about following Jesus you like, but there may also be some things that are simply too hard; too risky; too this or too that.  So, instead of just leaving his world, you may try to drag Jesus back into your world and see if you can get him to lounge with you somewhere on a warm, secure, comfortable sunny beach, all the time duping yourself into thinking you are his true blue disciple.  Or, you may take an occasional excursion into his world now and then, but return to the comfort of your own world when it’s convenient for you.
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• Finally, you may follow Jesus into his world and never leave.  When you get there, yes you may find it hard, and challenging, and risky, and the imperatives of His love demanding, if not impossible, but also you may find a depth of purpose, an experience of joy; a peace of mind and soul; a way of loving and living that is vital, alive and dynamic like you’ve never known anywhere and anytime before, and wouldn’t trade it for anything.  Jesus the LORD, your LORD, will get into your blood, your mind, your heart, your soul, the very fiber of your being. 

 John the Baptist said to two of his disciples, “Look, there is the Lamb of God.”  Their curiosity piqued, they followed.  

Jesus turned to them and said, “What are you looking for?” 

They asked, “Where are you staying?”

“Come and see,” invited Jesus. 

They stepped over a threshold into Jesus’ world of discipleship; and the ramifications of their steps cascade down through the centuries to this very day. 

 “Come and See.”  In the end, it is an invitation to name Him LORD; to follow him into his world; to step over a threshold into discipleship; to bring the sacrificial love of the Savior Jesus, demonstrated on the cross, into the world so the world might know him and name him as Lord.    

 Hear his words again, “Come and see.”  I pray you will and I pray you will never return because you will discover that finally you are really alive and you are home.