“Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”
This should be our heart’s desire every time we open the Bible, every time we gather at church on Sunday’s and Wednesday’s, every time we bow our heads in prayer. Each morning when we awake, we should make this our prayer, “Lord, I want to see you today.” Yet, we get up, do the routine and most likely miss Him. He is in the mundane. He is in the routine. He is glorious. He is in all of the aspects of life, if only we had eyes to see.
Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him (John 12:20-26).
The message given to the Greeks who wanted to see Jesus is the same for us as well. Christ had to suffer, die, and rise again, so that we could see Him in all His glory. But we too must die, like the grain of wheat, buried in the soil, if we desire to live a life worth living. In order to see Him in our daily routines, we have to begin each day dying to self, so that our focus becomes His focus. Our tasks become His tasks.
We are the walking dead without Christ, but when we come to Him, desiring to see Him, we must allow this zombie-like existence to be slain, buried, and raised again to new life, a new creation in Jesus.
Jesus told the Greeks to count the cost in their desire to see Him and it is the same message for us today. The cost is all encompassing, it involves losing one’s life, hating one’s life in this world to gain eternal life, serving and following Jesus through His death, burial, and resurrection, into eternity. It’s rewards are eternal and glorious, a fruitful life of service that will gain the honor of the Father.
Seeing Jesus is not fire insurance. Seeing Jesus is not a prosperity gospel. Seeing Jesus is dying to self, picking up one’s cross, and following Him on whatever path He leads. Seeing Jesus, as He prescribed in this passage, will result in an eternity spent with Him and a Father who says, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master’ (Matthew 25:23).
The challenge today is will you make “I want to see Jesus” a new daily prayer and when He does reveal Himself, will you follow Him no matter where He leads. It seems easy to follow Him into the glorious unknown, but will you seek Him in the mounds of laundry and piles of dishes? Will you find Him on the job site and in the college classroom? He is there, as He promised never to leave you nor forsake His own, but we need help seeing Him in and through all of life’s circumstances.
“Open the eyes of our hearts Lord, we want to see You.”