Spending a Day With Jesus
Scripture Reading — John 1:35-42
They went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him.
—John 1:39
On a recent trip we noticed that many gas station names highlight how quickly we can fill up and scurry on our way: “On the Run,” “QuikTrip,” “QuikStop.” And where do my wife and I buy most of our gas? At the local Speedway station.
I remember (long ago) leaning against the fender of my 1953 Ford, chatting with my neighborhood service station friend as he pumped my car’s gas, checked the oil, adjusted the tire pressure, washed the windshield, and asked how my seminary studies were going. He might have taken my blood pressure and pulse if I had asked!
When John the Baptist pointed out Jesus to two of his own disciples, they followed Jesus and asked him, “Where are you staying?”
When Jesus invited them to come and see, “they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him.”
For the disciples and Jesus, there was no “On the Run” or “QuikStop” that day.
And what began with an awkward, sandal-shuffling question ended up as one of the richest days of their lives.
Lent is a good time to slow down and spend some time with “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
Jesus, in this season, slow us down, teach us to refresh, refocus, and renew. In your name we hope. Amen.
About the author — Dale Vander Veen
Dale Vander Veen is a retired Christian Reformed pastor who with his wife, Edith, has ministered in California, Washington, and Michigan. They have three married children and six grandchildren. He currently writes a daily e-mail series of devotions.
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