In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:1-5
The opening of John’s gospel has quickly become one of my favorite Bible passages. I’d largely ignored it in the past, but that changed last year when my daughter had to memorize the first 13 verses to deliver for her school’s annual speech competition. I practiced it with her so often that I learned it myself, and with every repetition I saw more of the riches of meaning packed into the words.
- The mystery of the Trinity both compounded and clarified
- The confirmation of Christ’s timelessness
- The declaration of Christ as our Creator
- The revelation of Christ as the source of all life and light (knowledge, wisdom, grace, TRUTH!) that darkness cannot overcome
The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. John 1:9-13
The Light came into this world. In doing so He gave up EVERYTHING, doing the very thing He later demanded of the rich young ruler. He stepped down from His eternal throne, willingly giving up control of His divine abilities to the will of His Father. In the truest sense He was never outside the plan of His Father, yet in another sense the True Light put Himself at the mercy of the helplessly blind. As the world, we were so blind that we could not even recognize Light when we saw it. We didn’t know our Maker when we met Him. How incredible!
Yet, the Third Person of the Trinity worked in the hearts of some, just as He more recently worked within my own. We were given sight, we saw the True Light, and we were given (unearned!) the right to become a child of God! Reborn not from our own will, but of God’s alone.
Heavenly Father, as we continue into the Christmas season, I thank you for the revelation and reminder of who your Son truly is. I renew my admission that I could never have broken through my blindness to recognize Him on my own. I am a new man because of You and You alone. Please mature me and pull me deeper into the Light with each passing day, and please use me to spread this Light to the blind I encounter every day! Amen.
Michael (mmattix)
Sixty-six books in a year 