“Come and See” is an invitation to come alongside those who already believe to see if Jesus is the real deal, in an environment where it is okay to ask questions and wrestle with doubts. Philip gave this invitation to Nathanael.

Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” John 1:46 (ESV)

The call to follow Jesus is a call to discipleship. A common misconception is that discipleship is only for people who already believe, acknowledge, and follow Jesus as their Savior and Lord.

Jesus called people to embark on a discipleship journey before they were even believers, much less committed followers.

We can invite pre-believers to explore the possibility that Jesus is the Messiah by hanging around people who already follow him. Philip’s wanted to bring Nathanael into a personal encounter with Jesus, trusting that our Lord could and would handle it from there. Is there a way that we can do the same thing today?

This is how Jesus brought me into his band of disciples. My girlfriend at the time, now my wife of fifty-one years, boldly told me that she had come to know Jesus in a personal way and become his follower. After recovering from the initial shock and after spending time with her and some other followers of Christ, I decided that I wanted to know for myself if this Jesus is indeed still alive and who the Bible says he is – the resurrected Lord.

I recognized that something significant had happened to my girlfriend that I could not explain.

I did what seemed reasonable to me to do at the time. I asked this Jesus, if he were real, to come into my life and somehow reveal himself to me. I cannot remember if anyone suggested that I do this, or if it was my own idea. Regardless, it was the first big step I took in coming to believe.

When I prayed for our Lord to reveal himself to me, I was serious. I did not believe yet that he really rose from the dead; so, I could not fake faith. I did not pretend to be a believer. I suppose that some people try to “fake it until they make it,” but not I. If I were to become a true believer, God would have to do something to move me from unbelief to faith. Although I did not realize it at the time, there is a biblical precedent for that – Thomas. I had no idea if or how that could happen. I just prayed the prayer and left it at that.

Looking back, now I realize that almost immediately I changed on the inside. At the time, I did not connect the dots, but I remember realizing that I was different – happier and more considerate and more willing to serve others. To be honest, I thought it was because the Zen meditation I was doing was working. I was tentatively exploring Zen Buddhism at the time in my search for truth. A couple of weeks later, after spending more time with my lovely Jesus follower, my mind once again was engaged in thinking about Jesus. While thinking on these things late at night while all alone, I suddenly recalled the prayer I made earlier, asking Jesus into my life. Yes, I had forgotten! As must be apparent, I really was not trying hard to become a believer, but at that moment I was engaged. The moment I recollected that prayer, the little room where I stood all alone seemed to fill up with God’s presence. Don’t ask me how I knew it was God. I just knew. If you have ever experienced God’s presence like that, it is amazing. I was filled with joy, which matches what King David wrote so long ago.

11 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11 (NKJV)

Suddenly deep inside I was convinced that Jesus is real and who the Bible says he is. I have no explanation for how I became a fully convinced believer in a flash, except that Jesus came to me by his Spirit and opened up the eyes of my heart.

Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” 16  Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17  Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. Matthew 16:15-17 (NLT) 

This all started by my spending time with other believers, one in particular, which resulted in my making the decision to invite Jesus to reveal himself to me. I came and saw, and have never been the same since that encounter with Jesus!

“Come and See” is not necessarily an invitation to come hear a preacher or visit a church service. More than anything else, it is an invitation to spend time with people who already believe who can lead us to a personal encounter with Christ.

This requires us believers to live in such a way that will be inspiring and welcoming. This means our devotion and faith should be evident and easily rub off on others. It means that how we live should draw people to Christ, not because we are perfect, but because we are in love with the God who loves us past comprehension. God wants us to present ourselves as humble followers of Jesus who still have much to learn, rather than as know-it-alls, whose arrogant smugness repels people. Philip was committed to Jesus. His zeal inspired Nathanael to give it a shot, and Jesus took it from there.

The opposite is also true unfortunately. Some churchgoers live in such a way that detracts from the gospel and repels potential seekers, who see the obvious hypocrisy.

We are either magnets who draw people toward Christ or we may be pushing them away.

If we are passionless and joyless churchgoers, that in itself is an advertisement against Christ.

Coming to faith in Jesus is sometimes more of a journey than a momentary burst of revelation. It was for most of his first disciples. They did not have a clue about the Lord’s real identity at first, but something drew them to Jesus. It was only after his resurrection that things became clearer. When exactly did Peter know that Jesus was the Messiah? We don’t know, but somehow he came to believe. Many people cannot point to an exact moment, as I can, when they became believers, but they now definitely believe in Christ and follow him.

Inviting people to walk with us as we follow Jesus is one way to fish for people.

God wants us to invest in the lives of those around us to give them the opportunity to behold Christ’s life in us and hear his words from us. He wants us to spend time with people, so they can ask questions and we can offer answers. He wants us to fall in love with people so that we truly care for them and want the very best for them. Let’s not be in a hurry and rush people on the discipleship journey. Let’s invite people to “Come and See.”