"Come and see.... Invite a Friend to Church?"
Never invite anyone to come to Church with you if you believe it will make them adhere to some rigid code of conduct, give money they don't want to give, and somehow live life less fully than those who do not go to Church.
Nathanael's first response to Philip is what you might hear from someone you know if you ask them to come to Church: "Can anything good come from the Church?" Unfortunately far too many people have been exposed to miserable preaching and teaching in the name of Christ, and they have learned Christianity is not for them.
IF, however, you have begun to discover the joy and inner peace that comes from your love relationship with the risen Lord, then you will have no trouble saying to a friend or family member what Philip said: "Come and see."
Life in Christ is all about love.
"Whoever does not love, does not know God, for God is love" (1 John
4:8). John adds: "God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God,
and God abides in them" (1 Jn 4:16). Jesus seeks not to diminish life
within us by his teaching, but to enhance it. "I have said these things to
you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete" (Jn
15:11). Christians to be Christians must also love others. "Those who say,
'I love God,' and hate their brothers and sisters, are liars; for those who do
not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have
not seen" (1 Jn 4:20). Jesus teaches: "This my commandment that you
love one another as I have loved you" (Jn 15:10).
Here is where the difficulties begin to set in. Have we experienced love? Have we experienced Christ's love towards us which makes us able to understand and share love with others? Many among us have been born and raised in human communities where love is broken or hurtful or not present at all. How does a child learn to understand the gracious love of God, whom we call "Father," when their father is abusive or absent or never shares love and affection with them? when their father is demanding and arbitrarily applies rigid rules for living? That is enough to keep you away from "God, our Father."
Regardless of the degree of love we have experienced in our home and early life settings, we need to be part of the Church, part of the loving community that seeks to love us in Christ's name. Too frequently we pick out one person to become a spouse or companion and expect him or her to fill the void of love we feel within. In early years, especially, love and sexuality are mixed. We want to feel loved and respected and valued, and the other person may demand that we "have sex" to feel that love. It doesn't work, however. Clinging to another person to fill the void of love within; or entering into a string of intimate sexual relationships - these will not fill the void, but Christ's love will!
When we share life with people who are seriously seeking to love, value, respect, and share with us, we begin to believe that we might be an okay person. We slowly grow to understand that we are lovable and capable of loving as well. When we are loved and nothing is expected of us in return, except to share love, the wounds begin to heal and void begins to be filled. Paul writes: "Love one another in mutual affection; out do one another in showing honor" (Rm 12:10). If we experience love within a loving community, then we have no hesitation to invite others to "come and see" for what we have found is truly good news.
Joseph+
