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

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 true believers, much less committed followers. The call to follow Jesus is a call to discipleship. In the verse above Philip invited an unbeliever to explore the possibility that Jesus is the Messiah. It was an invitation to meet and personally experience Jesus’ ministry and words.

“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’s plan was 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 forty-eight 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 were indeed still alive and who the Bible says he is, the resurrected Lord. I did what seemed reasonable to me to do. 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.

After spending time my girlfriend Jesus follower, I was convinced that something significant had happened to her that I could not explain. I invited Jesus to show me that he is who the Bible says.

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 would not pretend to be a believer. I suppose that some people do, but at least I had that much integrity. If I were to become a believer, something had to happen to move me from unbelief to faith. I had no idea if or how that could happen. I just prayed the prayer and left it at that.

Almost immediately I changed on the inside. I did not connect the dots at first, but I remember realizing that I was different – happier and more considerate and willing to serve others. To be honest, I thought it was because I was meditating better. I was exploring Zen Buddhism at the time in my search for truth. A couple of weeks later, after spending more time with my beloved Jesus follower, my mind was engaged in thinking about Jesus again. While meditating on these things late at night while all alone, I suddenly remembered the prayer I made earlier. Yes, I had forgotten. I really was not trying hard to become a believer. I was not struggling over these things, but at that moment I was engaged. When I recollected the 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.

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 Jesus encounter!

“Come and See” is not primarily an invitation to come hear a preacher or visit a church service. Instead, 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 God. 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 are pushing them away.

If we are passionless churchgoers, that in itself is an advertisement against Christ. This is something we followers of Christ need to take very seriously.

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 a believer, but they 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 the discipleship journey. Let’s invite people to “Come and See.”