“Come and you will see!” piques curiosity among most people. All business owners will tell you that the best advertising is word of mouth. Who doesn’t check customer reviews before making a purchase? Who hasn’t bought something, tried out a new restaurant, or read a book on the recommendation of someone they trusted. But most common of all, who hasn’t heard and responded to the compelling words and outstretched hand of a young child anxious to share their new discovery with these words, “Come and you will see!”
“Look what I’ve found!” … “They raise the best chickens and have the best eggs!” … “Have you tried _______?” … “Have you heard this new worship song?” “Take a look at this new study Bible!” We do it all the time; share our wonderful finds with others. But let’s consider something far more important than childhood adventures, books, or eggs.
Who said, “Come and you will see!” and shared the good news about Jesus with you? How long ago? Is it forever fixed in your memory?
Years ago, as a young teenage girl, I attended a youth Bible camp and heard this good news for the first time. A counselor, not much older than I, knelt beside me by a metal bunk bed, telling me how much God loved and why Jesus died. The message was irresistibly life changing. Who could deny a love so genuine? “Come! Give Jesus a try,” she encouraged, “and you will see.”
You Will See
Before Jesus became famous throughout the surrounding region, John the Baptist faithfully preached repentance and baptized people. One day, he turned his disciples’ attention toward a nondescript, rather common-looking, figure moving among them.
“When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God!'”
John 1:35
He was saying, “This is The One! The One I’ve been telling you about. He is The One we have all been waiting for.” Immediately they approached Jesus and asked if they could follow Him. Of course, Jesus agreed.
“‘Come,’ he replied, ‘and you will see.'”
John 1:39
First, they saw Jesus, but then, by spending even a little time with Him, they began to see who He was in a greater way.
The story swiftly builds. One of John’s disciples named Andrew, quickly ran off to tell his brother Simon the good news. “We have found the Messiah,” Andrew excitedly said, bringing Simon Peter to Jesus. Philip was next to join the cavalcade with Jesus. Immediately, he, too, went out and called Nathanael, saying, “We have found the one Moses … and the prophets wrote …”
Good news spreads fast. And so, it should. The Lamb of God, the Messiah, the Promised One who would take away the sins of the world only briefly walked In their midst. Like a wild fire of faith, the good news of Jesus Christ quickly spread throughout the vicinity. As soon as people began to “see,” they found in Jesus, all their hearts had long searched for.
Good News
The same good news shared on the hills and seashores of Galilee remains good news for everyone today. Jesus is still in the business of transforming lives, bringing hope, and healing the broken. But I wonder if we (especially I) have forgotten what incredibly good news we possess. It is far too easy to discreetly go about our Christian traditions without taking time to point anyone to Jesus.
Whether we live in North American, Africa, or the Far East, we all face challenges in sharing Jesus. In some areas, people live in such luxury and ease the need of a Savior falls upon deaf ears. In places under religious oppression, people share the good news at risk of their lives. Billions of people in these restricted nations will never hold a Bible in their hands, while others allow the same Word of God to collect dust on a nightstand or bookshelf. How tragic!
I once held a copy of a handwritten Bible. A Bible had been smuggled into a nation closed to Christianity. The recipients meticulously hand copied it, word for word, again and again, to ensure that as many people as possible would have an opportunity to read its pages. It felt like a sacred moment to embrace a Book so valued and costly.
On another occasion, I visited a remote area of a country where few people have the opportunity to hear the good news. Here, if someone who could read comes to faith in Jesus Christ, they are immediately given a Bible and designated as pastor to lead and disciple their village. Just like Jesus’ first followers, they carry no degree or formal training and yet live and share their faith boldly.
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
1 Peter 2:9
Hope
Those who know me best, know that sharing Jesus with others does not always come easily. I fumble with words, miss opportunities, and allow busyness to interrupt God assignments. So, the words I write today are convicting and compelling to myself first.
This week, a wonderful friend shared her recent joy of leading someone to Jesus. Through her contagious joy, I realized how long it has been since I, too, experienced the delight of witnessing a sinner become a saint, a captive set free, and the dead receive new life. She had prayed for this one. She had planted seeds of faith. And when the time was right, she had shared God’s full redemptive love story through Jesus. After months of prayer-filled intercession, God opened the door. My beautiful friend led another child into relationship with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I danced and shouted with heaven at the good news.
“ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”
Luke 15:7
In a world void of hope, we hold the secret of hope eternal — the good news of Jesus Christ. May you and I find a comfortable rhythm of simply telling others, “Come and you will see!” Like my dear friend, may we faithfully water the soil of faith around us in fervent prayer, and expectantly wait for the God opportunities to bring this hope to those around us.
It really isn’t that hard once we get over our insecurities. “Have you heard about Jesus?” “Let me tell you what He has done in my life.”
Let’s all become better advertisers of the best news ever — Jesus came to seek and to save. “Come and you will see!”
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