“Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” “Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied.  John 1:46 NLT

No one has ever fallen in love with Jesus through the intimate stories of someone else’s faith encounter.  At best, the story inspired them and then opened the door for them to seek Jesus for themselves. Philip knew that Nathaniel would only be convinced about the Messiah if he saw Him personally.  That’s why he urged him, “Come and see.”

Are such defining moments possible today for the one who asks Jesus to reveal Himself to them?  Yes. There are moments that become mountaintops; encounters that become a Bethel. These are not limited to unbelievers seeking to be saved.  They are also for believers who have settled for monotony, who are trying to live on yesterday’s manna. We are to seek, listen, and pursue God relentlessly.  The glory of Jesus will surprise us again and again at unsuspecting times. An ordinary day will be turned upside down as the eternal penetrates the temporal.  God’s glory will fill our field of vision and earth’s trinkets will no longer impress us nor satisfy what it is we’re really craving.

Those around us may not see what we see but we know it is a holy moment.  We’ll take our shoes off even as we remember it.  In the afterglow, we’ll live dazed by the memory and tremble in the distraction of it. We know it’s hard to capture it in words. That’s why we join the many other evangelists through the ages to say, “Come and see for yourself.” 

Lord, commune with us today in a place that doesn’t need words. Amen