What Are You Looking For?

January 2, 2024 Nathan Miller

”When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o'clock in the afternoon.“ John‬ ‭1‬:‭38‬-‭39‬ ‭NRSV‬‬

Devotional: 2 of 5

Picture this scene from the first chapter of the Gospel of John.

John the Baptist, who would "make straight the path of the Lord," is teaching two of his disciples in the ways of the Kingdom of God. His gaze locks in on Jesus as He walks by. Looking at Jesus and then looking back at his disciples, he cries out, "Here is the Lamb of God." Repeating a message he had declared just one day before.

And in that moment, everything that John had been teaching them took on flesh and blood. The One they had been searching for was now in their midst. Without a second thought, they left John's side and began to follow Jesus as He walked along the road. (We know from the text that one of the two unnamed disciples was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.)

Upon hearing their footsteps, Jesus turned and offered an open invitation initiated with a question, "What are you looking for?"

Perhaps it was Andrew who answered Jesus' question with a question. "Where are you staying?" (Said another way, where are you abiding?)

Seeing the two disciples' genuine step of faith, Jesus responds with the same offer He extends to you and me today, "Come and see."

Andrew (and the disciple who shall remain nameless) go at once and spend the day with Jesus. From this short encounter with Jesus, Andrew, full of joy, runs to tell his brother Simon the Good News that "we have found the Messiah."

Upon reflecting on Jesus' invitation to abide, Andrew Murray notes, "Come... let us day by day set ourselves at His feet, and meditate on this word of His, with an eye fixed on Him alone. Let us set ourselves in quiet trust before Him, waiting to hear His holy voice - the still small voice that is mightier than the storm that rends the rocks - breathing its quickening spirit within us, as He speaks: Abide in me."

For you and I today, Jesus' offer to "come and see" is an open invitation to linger in His presence, to be like Mary (of Martha and Mary), who sat listening to the words of the Teacher, and to ask the burning questions that have been trapped deep in the recesses of our hearts. Like Andrew, we have the choice to accept Jesus' invitation to abide in His presence. Will you accept His offer?

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