Come and See

One of my favorite comedians, Brian Regan, does this comedy skit about walking on the moon.  He talks about those times when you're in a group of people and everyone tries to one up each other with the stories of their lives.  He talks about wanting to be one of the guys who walked on the moon so that he could just end each of these conversations with, "I walked on the moon."  Competition over, you win.  Isn't that what we do though?  We compete with each other to see whose life is more interesting.  We go back and forth like this hoping that others will notice just how awesome we are.

I've been reading a book entitled Love Does.  It's written by this guy Bob Goff.  When Dos Equis came up with the idea for the most interesting man, I think they based it loosely off this guy's life.  One of the recent chapters that I read was about being secretly awesome.  I loved the concept.  He points out that we're often motivated to tell others about our accomplishments and achievements in order that others can begin to see just how awesome we are.  Just like Brian's comedy skit, our conversations are filled with attempts to show others that we're incredible and worth attention.  Bob challenges this idea and encourages us to find contentment in being secretly awesome.

I'll admit that I often fall into this temptation.  I've been blessed to have some incredible adventures and stories over my life and there are times where I share these in order to garner admiration and respect.  Jesus had entirely different way of doing things.  He routinely chose humility.  In Isaiah, it says, "He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him" (Isaiah 53:2).  Yet there was something so attractive about him that he drew crowds everywhere he went.  In John, it talks about how two of John the Baptist's disciples were following Jesus one day and they asked him where he was staying.  Jesus responded, "Come and you will see."  This invitation radically transforms their lives.  One of these disciples turns out to be Andrew, one of the twelve.  Later, after Jesus calls Philip, Philip goes to Nathaniel and tells him that they've found the Christ and to "come and see."  At this point in the gospel, there is no record of Jesus performing miracles or even teaching for that matter.  Yet, already, these disciples are committed to following Jesus and to learn from him.

You see Jesus didn't need to tell others about his accomplishments or miracles.  He didn't sit down with the Pharisees and compare who was greater by how many people they had healed or demons they had exorcised.  He simply lived an awesome life that drew crowds of people.  His only publicist (if you want to call it that) was a guy who ate locusts and baptized people in a river.  Yet his fame continued to spread and people kept leaving everything and following him.  Even when people started to abandon him and reject him, he didn't stop what he was doing.  He knew his purpose and he was fine living a rejected life.  He was content being secretly awesome.

Our society has trained us to believe that living a secretly awesome life is a poor decision.  Think about it.  When applying for a job, we pack our resumes with every accomplishment and achievement we can think of.  When pursuing a significant other we try to hide our faults and showcase our strengths.  When seeking a promotion at work we convey why we are more deserving than others.  Lets face it, the person who has achieved more and has grander accomplishments is the one who gets the job, the spouse, the promotion etc.  What if we did things differently?  What if instead of boasting in our accomplishments we simply lived a "come and see" life?  What if our lives were filled with so much love for God and for others that people were naturally drawn to us and thereby pointing them towards the Kingdom of God?  This is the kind of life I want to live.  I want to be the kind of person who seeks out others for the sole reason of giving them an ear to listen and a shoulder to cry on.  I want to be the kind of person who actively seeks to draw out the beauty within others.  I want to bring restoration and healing to the wounded and broken.  I want to live in a such a way that when people look at me, they see Christ.  I want to live a "Come and see" life.

Living in Hope

Growing up, I had a firm grasp on what it meant to live in hope.  You see I grew up in a military family and hope just seems to come with the territory.  When I was young my dad would go out to sea for long periods of time.  Unfortunately, life didn't stop when he went out to sea.  The first few days were always the hardest.  My mom and I would take turns being strong and would comfort the other.  After all we were in this thing together.  We'd look at my dad's picture and we'd begin to hope and find peace.  I would go off to Kindergarten with a classroom full of students who were in the same boat.  Looking back on it, I have more respect for those teachers.  The did their best to teach us despite knowing that most of their students were dealing with the absence of a parent.  I'd go about my busy Kindergarten day, slaying dragons and resisting the urge to eat playdoh.  When I would get home, my mom would be there to greet me, often wearing a brave smile.  I'd give her a big hug and smile right back.  Dad had left me in charge as the man of the house and I wanted to make sure that I didn't let him down.  Over dinner we'd talk about our days.  Mine was obviously far more exciting, but I'd let her think hers was more interesting anyway.  Every now and then I would ask, "When?"  That's all that was needed.  My mom would smile and say through a slightly cracked voice the day the ship was expected in.  I had something to look forward to.  I had something to put my hope in.  There were some rough nights to be sure.  My dad was (and admittedly still is) my hero and his absence wasn't always easy to take in, but hope is what pulled me through.  Hope is what kept me going. Hope is what made me strong and courageous.

The day would finally come when the ship was due back.  I was so excited that I would be on the verge of tears.  I remember one time, where we got to the dock and the ship was still a little ways off shore.  I can't remember for the life of me why it wasn't docked, all I remember is that it wasn't.  It sat there just out of reach like the cookie jar in the kitchen.  I stared at it, almost willing it to shore.  Eventually the boat docked and the crew came off the ship.  The loved ones found their respective crew members.  There were tears of joy and quiet hugs because no words were needed.  Then I saw him.  My dad in his officer's uniform.  I sprinted to him as fast as I could.  He knelt down and lovingly scooped me into his arms.  He held me tightly and I clung to him.  I wasn't letting go and he didn't mind.  My hope had been realized.


We often forget the power of hope.  I think it's because we've forgotten what we're hoping for.  It's not something distant with a small chance of happening.  It is an ever present reality that Christ calls us friends and has gone ahead to prepare a place for us.  That is where our hope lies.  The end of Revelation is a beautiful thing where Heaven and Earth meet and God reigns with his people.  Where all the present sufferings of this world are washed away and where darkness no longer has any power.  This is the hope that we have in Christ.  That through his death and resurrection we are brought into this wonderful promise.  I want to live a life that looks forward to this reality.  That in the hard times and the joyful times I can look to the cross and remember where my hope is found.  I want to live in such a way where my courage and strength are found in this hope.  A life where I faithfully live out the charge that God has given me and where when I finally see him coming, I can run to him, let him scoop me up into his arms, and embrace me because no words are necessary.