A Thought For The Week Of January 8, 2018

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1) In my last devotional, I reflected on the opening words of the Bible, which begin with "in the beginning," and which remind us that everything comes from God and that everything is, in origin at least, good. John's Gospel also starts with the words "in the beginning," suggesting that John wants to link what he's writing with that foundational story of the Bible. In Genesis 1, the word was important. God created by speaking; in the story God literally spoke into existence everything that exists. John understands the significance of that, and as he reflects on the life of Jesus that he had witnessed, he sees the creative and transforming power of God in God's word - and, more than that, he sees it in Jesus. He looks at the ministry of Jesus he has just witnessed, and he understands - that creative force that brought everything into existence is inseparable from the Jesus who had walked with him and talked with him. And so, John could say a few verses later, that the "Word" (the power that brought everything into existence) "became flesh and dwelt among us." He's clearly talking about Jesus. He has seen Jesus "create." He has seen Jesus bring new thoughts, new ideas, new ways of relating to God. He has seen Jesus bring new life even to those who were dead. He has seen. And he has understood. In Jesus was contained the creative force and the life giving spirit of God. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Having encountered Jesus face to face, John could no longer see a distinction between Jesus and God. indeed, "the Word was God." It's one of the statements of faith that has marked the church almost from the very beginning.