Readings for today: Psalms 106, John 1:4-14
I loved reading Psalm 106 today alongside the prologue of John’s Gospel. It’s a great reminder of God’s faithfulness and steadfast love that endures forever. No matter how far we wander and stray, God never abandons us. He pursues us. He delivers us. He saves us. This has been His plan from eternity and the fulfillment of that plan is Jesus Christ. The Word made flesh. The Light who overcomes the darkness of our world. The Creator who entered fallen creation. The Father who came for His wayward children. Yes, the world did not recognize Him. Yes, His own people did not receive Him. Yes, He would eventually be despised and rejected by those He came to save. But nothing would stop Him, not even death itself, from bringing life and light to all humankind.
The opening of John’s Gospel leaves me breathless every single time. It has to be one of the most beautiful passages ever written by a human being. The poetry and prose is amazing. Divinely inspired. Read the words again. Read them slowly. Read them thoughtfully. Read them aloud to yourself. Let the implications of the words overwhelm you. Let the truth of these words sink deep into your soul. Let these words define and shape your perspective about yourself, those around you, and the world. These are life-changing words. These are world-shaping words. These are eternal words for they are the Word of God.
“In him was life, and that life was the light of men.”
“The light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.”
“He was in the world, and the world was created through him, and yet the world did not recognize him.”
“He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.”
“But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born, not of natural descent, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.”
“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
These words sum up the faithfulness and steadfast love of the Word. These words proclaim the truth of the Word. These words declare the fulfillment of the plan the Word has set forth from eternity. Life. Light. Adoption. Faith. Glory. Grace. Truth. This is the heart of the Christian faith. This is the foundation on which the Kingdom of God is built. Though heaven and earth may pass away, God’s Word remains. Trust Him. Believe Him. Follow Him.
Readings for tomorrow: Matthew 1, Luke 1:1-2:38