Inspired by John 1:43-51
“The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.’ Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’” John 1:43-46
Many churches have special committees dedicated to ‘evangelism.’ Some even spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on ‘evangelism programs’ designed to bring more people to the faith and (sometimes more importantly) to that particular church. Most mainline Protestants shy away from the idea that each and every one of them should be actively engaged in evangelism because they don’t feel that they have the right training, tools, or personality for it.
But evangelism is nothing complicated, threatening, or (especially) expensive. All it takes is for one who has been called by Christ to say to another, “Come and see.” We don’t have to ‘convert’ people to the faith; all we need to do is invite them to where they might encounter Jesus for themselves, so that they might hear his call, too. If our own encounter with Jesus has had an impact on our lives, then the way we live our lives will be argument enough that such an encounter is worth having. If someone doubts us, all we have to do is say, “Come and see,” and Jesus will do the rest.
Let us pray. Living Christ, you call us as we are to follow you. Grant us the courage to invite others to experience you for themselves, that we may help to bring your grace to all those who so desperately need it. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.
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