Come And See!

Psalm 66:5 – Come and see what God has done, his awesome deeds for mankind! (NIV 2011)

Psalm 34:8a – Taste and see that the Lord is good. (NIV 2011)

"Come and see! Come and see!" pleads the child as he tugs on your sleeve. You see the floor where he's pointing; it's a clutter of scattered Lego®. You keep looking because he insists. Finally, you see it. Why, there's an entire Lego® village with buildings, roads, trees, little people, a play park, an ice-cream stand, and more. The child beams as you stoop down to observe the details. You must notice every detail; the child watches your eyes, looking for your reaction. Are you are genuinely noticing? The child knows if you're not, if you're only semi-engaged. You must demonstrate that you indeed see it — all of it. He will point out any details that you missed; you can be sure of that!

This child invited you to witness something exhilarating: his accomplishments. He seeks your response. That is how you honour him. That's your supreme expression of love: undivided attention, sincere feedback, and genuine interest in his world.

It's like that with God: "Come and see!" pleads God. "Come, witness my handiwork! Taste it! Experience it! Do you notice it — in the created world, in my Word, in My risen Son… in people? Are you interested? Do you care?"

To be sure, much of God's handiwork goes unnoticed unless God firmly tugs on our sleeves and points to the spot. That's how Jesus got His disciples to notice a particular woman in the crowded lineup at the temple treasury box. Her inconspicuous offering would otherwise have gone unnoticed amidst the clatter of coins. For Jesus, that clatter was like a bunch of scattered Lego® — not God's actual project! You had to notice something going on inside the woman: a heart overflowing with gratitude and praise — in spite of the despicable exploitation of widows at the time.

Here's another example of God's "come and see" tug shared by a friend: After leaving home, her father showed little interest in her — other than a yearly birthday card which he always formally signed, "Sincerely, T. J. Hartford". Then one year, he signed the card, "Love, Dad". Those two little words gripped her attention. God pointed right there. The words revealed a flicker of change in her emotionally distanced father. That warmed her heart.

We know how grieved the little boy would feel if we rolled our eyes in response to his enthusiastic invitation. Surely, God is also grieved by such indifference toward His interests. It's like the elder son's coldness toward his exuberant father who held a lavish "come-and-see" party so that everyone could enter into his joy over a restored relationship with his younger son. Imagine the father's grief over his son who refused to "come and see"!

May we, on the other hand, bring joy to our Lord, through our keen attention to His handiwork.

Prayer: O Father, help us to notice Your deeds with great interest — even those unremarkable details that are easily overlooked in the clutter of life. Amen.

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