Have you ever noticed as you go through life that your faith comes
and goes in stages? Or is it just me? I mean, I always have faith. I always
have a testimony of my Savior. But, I find as I go through different
experiences sometimes I feel closer to my Savior and sometimes I feel as if I
have wandered from Him a ways.
As I have recently been studying the New Testament more diligently I have learned a beautiful lesson. It is a lesson
we can learn whether our faith is feeling strong enough to move mountains or,
if for some reason our faith is feeling weak, or maybe for someone else,
perhaps they have no faith at all. The lesson is the same.
The most common miracle of the Savior’s ministry was healing the blind. One might wonder why? Was there
a severe case of blindness in the Meridian of time? I don’t think so. I believe
the Savior was very thoughtful and purposeful in all His teaching and healing.
I believe there is beautiful dual meaning in these miracles.
Jesus declared “I am the
light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall
have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
After the Savior healed a blind man John tells us the man “came
seeing.” And Jesus declared again “I
am the light of the world.”
In John 1:43-46 we find the 2 Great Invitations
of the Lord
1. Jesus
invites Philip to “Come, follow me.”
2. Philip, now
converted, tells Nathaniel “We have found
the Savior.” Nathaniel asks in disbelief “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip simply invites “Come
and see.”
Come and See. It is a simple invitation. Remove the blindness from your eyes.
From the very beginning of His mortal life this has been the invitation.
In Luke, after the angelic invitation and proclamation, the shepherds say “let us go to Bethlehem
and see this thing…"
After her marvelous conversion the humble Samaritan woman invites those in her town to “Come
and see… is not this the Christ?”
Even at the very end of his mortal life the invitation remains the
same. The angel, in Matthew, declares to Mary “He is not here, for he is risen… Come and see.”
We find this invitation throughout the New Testament. It comes
from the Savior Himself, from His Apostles,
angels, and His humble followers; each inviting us to “come and see”.
And so, as we go through life the invitation
is for us. If we are one who is blind and lacking faith – “Come and See”! Open your
eyes to the power and mercy and love of Jesus Christ. If you are like me,
perhaps sometimes you just need to see His love and miracles a little more
often. What I have learned is I need to open my eyes. It is not that His love
is lacking. My eyes have been somewhat blinded. His invitation is to me, a
faithful follower: “Come and See”. Look a little closer, a little harder, and “Come and See”.
I loved that. It was beautiful.
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