Come and See

"And I still haven't found what I'm looking for."
U2

"God looks down from heaven on the children of man
To see if there are any who understand, who seek after God."
Psalm 53:2

There is this scene in the early chapters of the gospel of John where Jesus has one of His first encounters with a couple of His future disciples. Up until this point, these two men have been disciples of John the Baptist. But when Jesus shows up and John begins to call Him "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world," the disciples can't help being drawn to this mysterious figure.

After one such comment by John as Jesus passed by, these two disciples begin to trail Jesus, following Him from a distance to get a better understanding of this holy stranger. Jesus is aware of their presence, and He turns and asks them a simple, yet very revealing question: "What is it you are seeking?"

Psalm 53, in the midst of declaring that there is no one who does good (not even one), also tells us that God is looking over the billions of people on this planet for anyone who is looking for Him. God is seeking seekers of God. The question of Jesus to His future disciples is God's eternal question to us. What are you seeking? What do you want? What are you after in this life?

If you spend enough time thinking about this question, you will find that it is not one that can easily be answered. Go ahead, try it. Don't accept your first answer point blank. Dig deeper. What is it you are truly seeking in the heart of your heart? Chances are that it is not God.

The two men to whom Jesus asked this heart-searching question, perhaps in an act of diversion, responded with a question of their own: "Lord, where are You staying?"

"Come and see," Jesus replied. And they did. Jesus did not press the question further at that point, although over the next three years these men would learn to seek the will of God above their very lives. For the moment, their simple and honest question would suffice: "Where are You?"

Perhaps this is all God expects from us for now. Is it a hard thing to say that I am seeking God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. There is no one who does good, not even me. But trailing several steps behind what my heart should truly desire, it is enough to stutter a sincere beginners question. "Where are You, Lord?"

"Come and see."