Come and See: An Invitation to Meet JesusSample

When Jesus first began teaching in public, he met a man named Philip and said to him, "Come, follow me." Philip did not go alone. He invited his friend Nathanael to join him. "Come with me and see for yourself," he told him.

This week, you can "come and see," too. Like Philip, you don't need to go on your own. You can meet Jesus alongside your friends and your mentors.

When Philip invited Nathanael to learn more about Jesus of Nazareth, Nathanael responded, "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" He was saying, "Philip, I don't know about this whole 'Jesus thing.'" 

Maybe you've felt the same way. Many people have questions about Jesus and God. That's okay. He invites us to "come and see" for ourselves.

Something astonishing happened when Philip and Nathanael started toward Jesus; he saw them approaching and knew who Nathanael was, without having met him before. 

Nathanael said, "How do you know me?" Jesus explained that earlier in the day, he'd seen Nathanael while he was sitting under a tree. 

Can you believe Jesus sees you and notices you exactly where you are? He sees you in your circumstances, your doubts, your worries. He sees you in your concerns about life and family, all the decisions you need to make, how tired you get. 

He sees all of you - the whole person - and still says, "Yes, you, I love YOU!" This is the good news of Jesus we will be talking about this week. 

REFLECTION

What doubts or concerns do you have about who Jesus is?

What do you think when you hear that Jesus sees all of your life and still loves you?