November 1st

The Call of Nathanael

              The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”  Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.  Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.”  Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”  When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!”  Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.”  Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”  Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.”  And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

John 1:43-51

            “Come and See.”

            Those are the words that Philip uses to convince Nathanael to come to Jesus.  Those three words are Philip’s big evangelistic sermon.  He does not try to convince his friend using theology or philosophy.  He does not bargain with him or try to shame Nathanael into becoming a believer.  All that Philip does is invite his friend to come and see for himself.  Make up his own mind. 

            Jesus is not a debate that we need to win.  Jesus is not a trick that we pull on people.  Jesus is not manipulating reason and emotions to produce more followers.  Jesus is alive and can speak for Himself and when He speaks, the world spins.  We just need to make sure that we are not getting in the way.

            Philip did not convert Nathanael, he simply appealed to the other man’s curiosity and showed him where to go.  The real change happened once Nathanael met the Master.  Nathanael did not come in with an open mind.  He was not looking to be impressed.  Jesus was from Nazareth and Nathanael had strong opinions about anyone who came from that region.  He thought they were uneducated and uncultured and a waste of space and resources.  He came to Jesus confident that he was the superior man.  Then Jesus opened His mouth and Nathanael was undone.

            No one knows what went on under the fig tree.  It was significant and it was secret and when Jesus said that He saw Nathanael under there, Nathanael knew that he was in the presence of the Almighty.  God was already at work in Nathanael and Philip merely came along at exactly the right time and Nathanael was committed.

            It is not so easy with our kids.  Like Nathanael, many people enter conversations with a lot of baggage and strong opinions.  They do not see what our kids have to offer and they view themselves as superior to our kids in a multitude of ways.   One of my jobs as a parent is to create scenarios where people can come and see the reality of who my son is underneath all the IDD stuff.  Sometimes that means prepping my son for social situations.  Sometimes that means finding people who have the same interests and setting up play dates.  Often that means coming alongside my son and creating events where he can be effectively social.

            I have been the youth leader at my church for five years now.  I wanted to volunteer and help out so that my son would have a good youth group experience.  Then the previous leader left and the group was left to me.  All of my youth groups are put together with my son in mind.  What games will we play?  What kind of devotionals will we do?  What kind of social interactions will we have?  They are all designed so that the reality of who he is can shine through.  Has that yielded many friends for him?  No.  Has he had a good youth group experience and has he developed a relationship with God? I think the answer to both is yes.

            I have taken jobs where I could bring my son along as a volunteer or paid staff.  I have gone on school trips with him.  We have done lessons and events and projects and excursions together, always with an eye towards creating an environment where his joy and his confidence and his warmth can shine through to be seen by others.

            It is not enough to say, “Come and see,” with our kids.  They are harder to connect with than that.  But we can help pave the way for them to have good interactions through a little bit of planning and flexibility and sacrifice.

           

A moment to reflect:

How can you make it easier for people to see who your child really is?