In John 1, there’s a small detail in verse 39 I can’t stop thinking about. Two disciples of John the Baptist decide to follow Jesus, and the Bible says: “They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon.”

Four o’clock. An ordinary hour.

I did what many of us do when a detail like that stands out: I went looking for hidden meaning. Was 4 p.m. a sacred time in the ancient world? Was it connected to a festival, a prayer hour or some spiritual code?

As far as anyone can tell, no. It wasn’t special.

And that may be exactly the point.

John includes the hour not because the hour is holy, but because when something changes your life, you remember the hour. You remember the moment. Not the kind of “importance” the world measures — headlines, spectacle, applause, awards — but the kind of importance you can feel in your bones. The moment becomes a marker: this is when God’s grace broke in.

That’s why the hymn Amazing Grace contains that unforgettable line: “the hour I first believed.” And in uncertain days — when the world feels chaotic — those moments become anchors.

Four o’clock is also meaningful in its plain way. On farms, it’s often chore time: feed and water, check the livestock, get ready for evening. In town, it’s the wrap-up hour, when you’re tempted to put off anything new and say, “I’ll deal with it tomorrow.” But in John’s Gospel, these disciples follow Jesus late in the day — when it would have been easier to go home. They don’t wait for a convenient time. Something matters enough to begin right then.

The passage includes another detail that is just as striking: Jesus’ first words in John’s Gospel are a simple, honest question. Not “Are you correct?” Not “Whose side are you on?” Not “Prove yourself.” Just this: What are you seeking?

It’s a question worth asking ourselves, too. What are we looking for in life — peace, belonging, meaning, relief, hope? What are we looking for, by calling ourselves, “Christians?” Jesus invites honesty, not performance. And when the disciples ask where he is staying, Jesus doesn’t hand them an argument to win. He gives an invitation: “Come and see.” Faith begins with relationship — the willingness to stay near to Jesus Christ.

Later, one of those disciples — Andrew —does something simple. He finds his brother Simon and says, “We have found the Messiah.” He brings one person. Not a team. Not a campaign. Not by crushing dissenting voices. Just one relationship. The most powerful changes often spread quietly, one relationship at a time, powered by God’s unconditional love made visible through our thoughts, words and deeds.

So here’s a simple practice for the week ahead: remember your “four o’clock moments.” The hours you can’t forget because grace got in. The times when something holy happened in the middle of an ordinary day. And if you can’t recall one, start paying attention now. Because the grace of God often arrives disguised as the ordinary.

And if your world feels as though it’s spinning out of control, try offering this simple prayer: “Jesus, I’m here. Let me come and see.”