“Come and See”
This from Earlham College in Richmond, IN: “Earlham College is inviting admitted students and their families to participate in a first-of-its-kind interactive driving tour of campus.
The ‘Experience Earlham: Living and Learning for Good’ tour is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 10. The event is an opportunity for students to taste test the College’s dining services menu, meet current students and faculty, and learn more about Earlham’s nationally recognized classroom experience. A rain date is scheduled for Saturday, April 17.”
One of my aunts would probably have said, “Well, I never!” She would have meant, “Well, I never heard of such!” At the least it is an opportunity for prospective students to have one last look before making the final decision to attend Earlham and at the most it is the hope that students will fall in love with what they see.
Earlham is saying, “To see, you will have to come. To come is to see in a way that a brochure cannot offer. “Come”, first. “See,” and when you come, “pay attention to what is here.” It’s a good idea and an old idea.
Take Psalm 66, for instance. It begins with a call to worship, this Psalm 66: “Shout joyfully to God, all the earth . . . Say to God, ‘How awesome are Your works!’” (Psalm 66:1, 3). It goes on, “The earth will worship You, and will sing praises to You; They will sing praises to Your name” (Psalm 66:4). Perhaps there were some who doubted so the invitation is extended both to the doubters and the worshippers: “Come and see the works of God, Who is awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men” (Psalm 66:5).
“Come and see.” (Isaiah 66:18): “They shall come and see My glory.” (Matthew 28:): “Come, see the place where He was lying.” (Matthew 28:6) “He [Jesus] said to them, ‘Come and you will see . . .’” (John 1:39) Phillip said to Nathaniel, ‘Come and see.’” (John 1:46) I like that even Jesus extended the same invitation to a couple of John’s disciples! John goes on to say, “So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour” (John 1:39). They came. They saw. They stayed with Him that day.
The invitation of Jesus was/is always open and clear. "Come follow Me." Sometimes, as was the case with a very rich young man, it involved selling every possession and joining His small group (Matthew 19:16-22) and sometimes, as was the case of the demoniac in the land of the Gerasenes, it meant going back to one’s home and bearing witness to God’s love and power (Mark 5:1-19). The invitation to “come and see” calls for the same level of commitment for all but it often calls people to live out their faith in different ways. For some, it may mean giving everything up, leaving it behind and following Jesus; for others, it may mean learning to steward one’s possessions more carefully, leveraging them for the Kingdom of God, all while following Jesus.
There is no “small print” in the agreement to follow Jesus. He is open and clear in His call to us as individuals. I have to believe that the disciples were processing their own call during the “betwixt and between” time after Jesus’ resurrection and before His ascension. Perhaps this a good time for all of us to once again remember what it meant when we “came” and “saw” and then responded to Jesus’ call in our own lives. Just a thought.
Well, I’m not sure how the “Experience Earlham: Living and Learning for Good” tour will work out for the college. I am sure that when one accepts the invitation of Jesus to “come and . . . see” the possibilities are beyond our imagination! And . . . the longer you stay with Him the more clearly you can see!
Just ask those first disciples!
On the journey . . .
Pastor J K
This from Earlham College in Richmond, IN: “Earlham College is inviting admitted students and their families to participate in a first-of-its-kind interactive driving tour of campus.
The ‘Experience Earlham: Living and Learning for Good’ tour is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 10. The event is an opportunity for students to taste test the College’s dining services menu, meet current students and faculty, and learn more about Earlham’s nationally recognized classroom experience. A rain date is scheduled for Saturday, April 17.”
One of my aunts would probably have said, “Well, I never!” She would have meant, “Well, I never heard of such!” At the least it is an opportunity for prospective students to have one last look before making the final decision to attend Earlham and at the most it is the hope that students will fall in love with what they see.
Earlham is saying, “To see, you will have to come. To come is to see in a way that a brochure cannot offer. “Come”, first. “See,” and when you come, “pay attention to what is here.” It’s a good idea and an old idea.
Take Psalm 66, for instance. It begins with a call to worship, this Psalm 66: “Shout joyfully to God, all the earth . . . Say to God, ‘How awesome are Your works!’” (Psalm 66:1, 3). It goes on, “The earth will worship You, and will sing praises to You; They will sing praises to Your name” (Psalm 66:4). Perhaps there were some who doubted so the invitation is extended both to the doubters and the worshippers: “Come and see the works of God, Who is awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men” (Psalm 66:5).
“Come and see.” (Isaiah 66:18): “They shall come and see My glory.” (Matthew 28:): “Come, see the place where He was lying.” (Matthew 28:6) “He [Jesus] said to them, ‘Come and you will see . . .’” (John 1:39) Phillip said to Nathaniel, ‘Come and see.’” (John 1:46) I like that even Jesus extended the same invitation to a couple of John’s disciples! John goes on to say, “So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour” (John 1:39). They came. They saw. They stayed with Him that day.
The invitation of Jesus was/is always open and clear. "Come follow Me." Sometimes, as was the case with a very rich young man, it involved selling every possession and joining His small group (Matthew 19:16-22) and sometimes, as was the case of the demoniac in the land of the Gerasenes, it meant going back to one’s home and bearing witness to God’s love and power (Mark 5:1-19). The invitation to “come and see” calls for the same level of commitment for all but it often calls people to live out their faith in different ways. For some, it may mean giving everything up, leaving it behind and following Jesus; for others, it may mean learning to steward one’s possessions more carefully, leveraging them for the Kingdom of God, all while following Jesus.
There is no “small print” in the agreement to follow Jesus. He is open and clear in His call to us as individuals. I have to believe that the disciples were processing their own call during the “betwixt and between” time after Jesus’ resurrection and before His ascension. Perhaps this a good time for all of us to once again remember what it meant when we “came” and “saw” and then responded to Jesus’ call in our own lives. Just a thought.
Well, I’m not sure how the “Experience Earlham: Living and Learning for Good” tour will work out for the college. I am sure that when one accepts the invitation of Jesus to “come and . . . see” the possibilities are beyond our imagination! And . . . the longer you stay with Him the more clearly you can see!
Just ask those first disciples!
On the journey . . .
Pastor J K
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