Then Jesus turned around and saw they were following him and asked, “What do you want?” They responded, “Rabbi (which means, Master Teacher), where are you staying?” Jesus answered, “Come and discover for yourselves.” So they went with him and saw where he was staying, and since it was late in the afternoon, they spent the rest of the day with Jesus. (John 1:38 – 39 TPT)
In the devotion I read this morning, the author refers to the passage in John 1:38 -39 where two of John the Baptist’s disciples saw Jesus walking by and began to follow him. In these two verses, Jesus wants to reveal the condition of their heart so he turns to them and gets straight to the “heart” of the matter and asks “What do you want?”
Now, I’m not sure about you, but…how do you think you would have reacted here? Can you imagine yourself at the scene? This was just after you were standing on the banks of the Jordan River the day John baptized Jesus. You were in the crowd with these two men when you saw a dove descend from heaven and land on Jesus’ shoulder and then, you heard the voice of God say “this is my son whom I love.” Now, this man turns to you and says “what do you want?”
Whoa… “what do you want?” These men could have asked for anything. But scripture says they wanted to know where Jesus was staying. There was something about Jesus that drew people to him. These men wanted to hang out with Jesus and get to know him better, perhaps even be one of his close friends. In other words… they wanted more than just “religion” they wanted “relationship.”
Jesus saw past these two men and what they “needed” in their “moment” and saw into their hearts.
The same is true today. In this same passage, he is inviting us to come and hang out with him each morning over a cup of coffee or tea and get to know him on a deeper more intimate level. How do we get to know him? By reading the Bible, by praying, and by journaling what we believe He is saying to us through our reading. This will allow us to discover for ourselves what Jesus is all about and who He is; not who other people say He is. The only way we can have a deeper relationship with someone is by spending time with them. The same is true of our relationship with Christ.
The invitation is open, Jesus has invited us all to “come and discover” who he really is. The question becomes, will we decide to set some quality time aside to spend with him.
We have all been called on purpose for a purpose and will stand before God one day and give an account for our lives. If there are things in my life I’m holding onto for my own reasons…. unforgiveness, anger, jealously, hate, my own dreams and desires, etc… I need to repent (turn from those reasons) and allow Christ to lead me down the path He has for me. This may not always be the path I would have chosen for myself…but I guarantee there will be abundant blessing that flow from being obedient to Christ and His plans for my life.