Come and See
Opportunities for face-to-face human contact are on the rise! Vaccinations are up, infection numbers are down, and more states and cities are slowly reopening restaurants, entertainment venues, and festivals. Life as we knew it is making a comeback.
One great blessing of increased face-time (the real thing, not the electronic version) is the opportunity to share Messiah’s love. We again find ourselves personally engaged with family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, classmates, all of whom need to know Messiah. Yet, for many of us this opportunity feels more like a threat than a “blessing” because telling others about Messiah does not come easily.
Most of us genuinely want to share Messiah’s love with others, but desire seldom results in action. For those with the gift of evangelism, desire naturally turns to doing. But, for “other-gifted” mortals (like me, and probably you), sharing Messiah seems like an impossible, overwhelming task. Our “failure-to-witness” leaves us feeling like spiritual failures, consumed by guilt, and sadly still immobilized.
Do not despair! Condemning yourself does you and the Kingdom no good! Guilt feelings are a lousy impetus for action. God gives the gifts as He sees fit, and He did not make a mistake in your case. God loves you, Messiah’s sacrifice covers your sin, and He still wants to use you to bring more citizens to His kingdom! And, He has a strategy for doing it.
How can we, the timid, be used to reach the people once again proximate to our daily lives?
Simple: we do what Philip did for Nathaniel. When Philip told Nathaniel Yeshua of Nazareth was Israel’s promised Messiah, Nathaniel responded cynically, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
Philip replied, “Come and see.” (John 1:45-46). He offered no persuasive arguments or elaborate presentations of Scriptural proof; Philip extended a simple invitation.
Philip’s strategy was genius; he invited Nathaniel to come and see Yeshua for himself, confident that in seeing Him, Nathaniel would believe. The invitation had nothing to do with Philip’s giftedness as an evangelist. It had everything to do with Yeshua’s power to draw all people to Himself (John 12:32). Even the timid among us can follow this simple strategy – let Yeshua do the work!
We can do as Philip did, even though Yeshua is not now walking among us as in Philip’s day. Regardless of your spiritual gifts you can say: Come and see…join me at church, small group Bible study, men’s or women’s retreat…join me in visiting a Messianic congregation on Shabbat, for a High Holy Day service, a Messianic Bar or Bat Mitzvah, a wedding…join me in a meal at our table, or a Shabbat dinner in a believing friend’s home.
A simple “come and see” is sufficient because Yeshua is still drawing people to Himself. By inviting others to experience the believing community for themselves, you are saying, “Come and see Messiah’s living body; listen to Him speak through His Word; see His Spirit working in ‘normal’ people in real life situations. Come and see the life of the One who fulfills the Hebrew Scriptures and brings life eternal and abundant, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile.” Yeshua is still doing the work of drawing people to Himself.
As our opportunities for face-to-face interactions increase, remember, you can impact someone’s life for eternity with a simple invitation. Someone invited you and the odds are they did not have the gift of evangelism. Yet, through that simple, loving invitation, Yeshua drew you to Himself. Step out in faith, invite your family, friends, neighbors, etc., to “come and see.” Then prayerfully watch as Yeshua draws them to Himself.
Written by Dan Strull, LIFE Board Chair
God designed us for relationship – first with Him, then with others. Finding ways to include God in our conversations may not seem natural for some. But we should be able to genuinely express our gratitude to Him for the beauty around us, His provision for our needs, safety in travel, etc.
When people notice that “there’s something different (in a positive way) about you,” we can attribute godly characteristics to the One who is working to transform us.
Every believer has a testimony of God’s grace. Part of a “come and see” approach is to share what the Lord has done in transforming your life. Others’ testimonies, like those found at https://www.insearchofshalom.com/all/storiesofshalom, can be shared in an email when you can’t be in the same space with your not-yet-believing friend.
Contact us with your questions or for additional practical suggestions for pointing others to Messiah.