When We Are Seen

‘Can anything good come…?’ ‘Come and see.’ Philip answered. ‘How do you know me?’ Nathaniel asked. ‘Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.’” John 1:46-48.

Prior to Nathaniel’s decision to follow Jesus, he was hanging out at his house sitting under the fig tree. His friend Philip had just discovered Jesus and had inquired as to where Jesus was staying. He believed that Jesus was the fulfilled prophesy of the Messiah, and didn’t want to lose track of Him. Philip must have been so excited to go and tell his friend. His joy was quickly diminished when Nathaniel answered through the heart of skepticism and prejudice. ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ What had happened in Nathaniel’s past that made him so cynical about the hope of a Savior? What experience molded and shaped his heart that he was willing to miss out on the Promised One? Philip urged him to ‘Come and see!’ As he approached Jesus, he discovered that he was already known by this man from Nazareth. Jesus told him that he had seen him sitting under the fig tree. How could this be? When was Jesus even around? Did he hear his heart of prejudice and disbelief?

In some ways I have been Nathaniel sitting under a shade of skepticism. At the end of my prayers, I say ‘Amen’ only to walk away saying ‘Is anything good really going to even come out of this?’ I have waded through waters of hope…pools of disappointment…dashed dreams and unresolved circumstances. In thinking of Nathaniel’s posture of disbelief, I realize that God gives me a choice each morning. When I arise will I choose to sit under the weight of disbelief and stagnant prayers, or will I ‘Go and see!’ like Philip urges? Will I stand up against my past experiences of unanswered prayers, and open my eyes to the prayers He has answered? Will I keep asking…keep seeking…keep knocking since I know where Jesus lives. He lives within me and He lives within you. He only has good and perfect gifts for us as it relates to our spiritual growth. We all know loss and devastation, but will we sit down under the fig tree and become spiritually suspicious and hardhearted? When we understand that Jesus sees us in our pain and disappointment, we can know that He will not leave us alone. Even when we fail to choose Him, He still chooses us in every moment of every day.

‘You did not choose me, but I chose you.’ John 15:16.