By the Way: An invitation beyond arguments

By Scott Raible on January 24, 2026.

“If God exists, can He make a mountain He cannot lift?”

The question is meant to sound profound, but it quickly collapses under its own weight. It creates a logical knot designed not to discover truth, but to trap the conversation in endless abstraction. Many debates about God follow this pattern: clever questions, sharp rebuttals, and intellectual sparring that generates heat but little light. Jesus offers a radically different starting point.

In John 1, when two disciples begin following Him, Jesus does not launch into a theological lecture or defend His identity with arguments. Instead, He turns and asks a simple, piercing question: “What are you looking for?” (John 1:38). This is not a philosophical puzzle; it is a personal invitation. Jesus shifts the focus from abstract debate to the deeper longings of the human heart.

The disciples answer, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” Jesus responds, “Come and see.” With those three words, Christ establishes the pattern of Christian faith. He does not call us first to argue about Him, but to encounter Him. Christianity is not primarily a theory to be proven, but a Person to be experienced.

Fruitless arguments often give us the illusion of control. If we can define God, corner Him with logic, or reduce Him to a problem to solve, we feel powerful, but the living God refuses to be contained by clever questions. Jesus does not answer the mountain paradox; He asks a better question: What are you really seeking-truth, control, victory, or life?

“Come and see” is an invitation to relationship. It means walking with Christ, observing His compassion, hearing His words, and allowing His presence to transform us. The disciples who accepted this invitation did not leave with airtight arguments; they left with changed lives. They encountered grace, truth, and a love that no debate could manufacture.

This is not a dismissal of reason, nor a retreat from the life of the mind. Christianity does not fear thinking, but reason finds its true purpose when it opens the door to encounter rather than attempting to replace it. Arguments may clear the ground, but only encounter with the Person of Jesus Christ gives birth to faith, obedience, and love.

Jesus still asks us the same question today: “What are you looking for?” If we are looking merely to win debates, we will remain restless. If we are looking for meaning, forgiveness, hope, and life, Christ still says, “Come and see.” In that encounter, questions find their context, faith finds its foundation, and our weary souls find peace and shelter.

Come and see Mercy made flesh.

Come and see Grace given freely.

Come and see Hope of eternal life.

Come and See.

Scott Raible is a lay minister serving at St Ambrose in Redcliff and at St Barnabas Church in Medicine Hat. Scott started Christian radio in Medicine Hat with Alive 99.5 and was an announcer and music director with 93.7 Praise FM. Scott can be reached at scottraible@gmail.com

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