"COME AND SEE" by Mike Cunningham - May 24, 2026

All my life I’ve been fascinated by EYES! When I was in high school I did a science fair project on the human eye. One of my career options was to pursue Ophthalmology, but I couldn’t see my way through that! I married Geralyn…you know, those beautiful blue eyes!

The Bible has a lot to say about EYES!

-Proverbs 4:28 “Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.”

-Psalm 27:4 “One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord.”

-Hebrews 12:2 “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.”

-Luke 9:62 “No one who puts his hand to the plow, and looks back…is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

-Mt. 26:41 “Watch and pray that you will not fall into temptation.”

WHY ARE EYES IMPORTANT IN SCRIPTURE?

What we SEE tells us WHAT WE BELIEVE

- Matthew 12:34 “Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.” A Paraphrasing of this is “Out of the overflow of the heart, the eyes SEE!”

What we SEE also tells us WHAT WE WILL BECOME

“You can’t live beyond what you believe.” Neil Anderson

Let me give you a few examples:

1. David and Goliath

Contrasting the Israelite Army vs. David. Did they SEE what they believed? (Did they see a Giant? or a giant God?) Did they become what they SAW? (A paralyzed army? vs. a courageous David!)

2. The 12 Spies

Contrasting the 10 Spies who only saw obstacles to entering the Promised Land vs. Joshua and Caleb. Did they see what they believed? Did they become what they saw? (Only Joshua and Caleb entered the Promised Land.)

3. The Ice Cream Stand experience.

When asked to sell a trailer for a friend that couldn’t hold a load without shredding the tires with the fenders, I thought it would be impossible to find a buyer. But the guy who bought it was interested in putting an ice cream stand on it to transport it twice a year.

What we SEE tells us what we believe. What we SEE tells us what we WILL BECOME.

So how does this relate to DISCIPLESHIP?

1. COME AND SEE

Jesus comes to each of us…and asks, “What do you see?’’ “What’s life about?” “Who are you?”

He takes us where we are at. We all have a starting point. Maybe our honest answer is: Myself. I have my plans for my life that have nothing to do with God.

Or we put God is in a nice, neat box and he should do what we expect of him.

Or we’re at that point of feeling hopelessness, self-contempt, or grief.

Jesus then takes us by the hand and leads us into a journey of discovery. He wants to challenge what we SEE with a NEW picture. He brings things across our path to help us see things in a new way.

A couple of examples from the Bible:

-Think of the disciple PETER's first encounter with Jesus in Luke 5:1-11 and the miraculous catch of fish after a night of fishing without catching anything.

-Think of JOSIAH in 2 Kings 22 which started out with 8-year-old King Josiah who reigned righteously in Jerusalem for 31 years. In his 18th year, he ordered renovations for the Temple. During the construction, High Priest Hilkiah discovered the lost Book of the Law (part of the Old Testament). Upon reading it, Josiah grieved the nation's past disobedience, sparking widespread religious reforms.

In my own story: How I needed God to open my eyes and help me SEE! God wants to lead you on your own journey of discovery! This is not a carbon copy of someone else’s life journey. It’s unique to YOU! He wants to take you and what you SEE…and how you SEE and heal your eyes to help you see better. He will help you see what is REALLY TRUE, he’ll help you see what is REALLY REAL.

Matt 6:22-23 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness.”

How does God change the way we SEE?

Maybe it’s like Peter, showing you something miraculous that helps you understand that he is real and present. Maybe it’s like Josiah, and it’s reading in the Bible and seeing Truth for the first time. Maybe it’s looking at creation. Maybe it’s like a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Maybe it’s reading a story of someone’s faith (like Immaculee Ilagabiza’s journey in Rwanda). Maybe it’s learning about science? (for example, about the optic nerve.) Maybe it’s being loved by someone or by this Church community. Let me share with you the MOST IMPORTANT THING THOUGH.

Jesus offers you His salvation, and His Holy Spirit to help you SEE! Jesus loved to heal the blind! A picture of what he longs to do to our Spiritual vision is in 1 Cor 2:14. “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” Somehow God wants to help you SEE!

See His love for you, first of all. See his desire to grow in you & deepen you. See new ways of loving and serving him and others. This is the life of Discipleship!

He is calling us deeper, healing our eyes, changing our course. He’s setting us on a new path. What you SEE will determine what you become! God heals our eyes and hearts!

Let me ask you this. What could you add or subtract to your life pattern, or your daily way of life, that would help change how you SEE?