"Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked. "Come and see,"
said Philip. (John 1:43-51)

We may have issues relating to our job, children's education, marriage, illness,
poverty, and so forth. When we have these sufferings, usually we stay apart from
the crowd. We start cursing our fate. We may not pray, as we have the same above
question in mind as of Nathanael, even if some of our friends tell us to pray to
God. We may not mingle with others or we may prefer to stay at home in solitude
just like Nathanael sitting under the 'fig tree'. Nathanael was expecting the
savior. We also are expecting our lord to solve our issues, but only waiting for
Him. But He has seen us sitting under the 'fig tree' with our sufferings. For
giving us the relief, Jesus calls us through His disciple 'come and see'. But
are we ready to go and see Him even though there is an invitation?

Let's decide to 'go and see Him'. How should we be able to see Him - "be a
righteous in whom there is no deceit." Even though there is an invitation to see
Him, neither the venue nor the date and time are mentioned. It's an open
invitation. We can go and see Him anywhere and anytime. Let's see where and when
we can see Him? Have we seen a hungry person who needs food? Have we seen a
thirsty person who needs something to drink? Have we seen a stranger who needs
help or a place to stay? Have we seen a person who needs clothing? Have we seen
a sick person who needs our care? Have we visited a prisoner who needs our love
to transform? If yes, many a times we have seen Him, but unfortunately may not
have identified Him. Even then we definitely may have got a feeling that our
sufferings are nothing when compared to the sufferings of these people. That
itself will boost our morale. Imagine how much they will be happy if we solve
their problems. Definitely it will be more than the happiness we receive when
God solve our small issues. Let's fulfill their requirements as a righteous
person without any deceit will do. Then we can make sure that we had seen Him.
For He said "whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did it for me.'
(Matt 25:31-46)

What is the benefit of going and seeing Him? Our Lord promised that "We will
see greater things; we will see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and
descending on the Son of Man." The angels will go up with our problems, and come
down with solutions as blessings to the sons of men. It's a promise from our
Lord to us. Let's go and see Him to be showered with blessings as the heaven
will be opened when we go and see Him.

Cheriyan Vengal, Toronto, Canada
http://cheriyanvengal.blogspot.com