Day 27: Word
“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.” John 1:1-4
As much as I love the traditional detailed
Christmas story in Luke’s gospel, I also love how John shares the Christmas
story – the story of the incarnation – God became man. The Word became flesh.
This is the great mystery and wonder and truth of Christmas! God took on human
flesh, becoming fully like us, and dwelled among us.
In these opening verses John tells us so much about who Jesus is:
He is eternal – with God from the beginning.
He is divine – the Word was God.
He is Creator – through him all things were made and in him was
life.
In the beginning God spoke Creation into being. “In the
beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1. Throughout
the Creation story in Genesis we are told that God spoke words and from those
words the created things came into existence. God spoke and it was done.
Now God speaks to us through His Son, the Word become flesh.
“In the past God
spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in
various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to
us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also
he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact
representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful
word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the
right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” Hebrews 1:1-3
John continues in
his gospel:
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the
Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14
The Word became flesh and dwelled among us, he became the promise
of Isaiah 9:2 – Immanuel, God with us, God dwelling among us, God eternally
present with us and in us.
And John also tells us that Jesus is God’s glory revealed. God in
human flesh made visible and fully known. In his first letter John gives
further testimony to who the Word is:
“That which was
from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our
eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim
concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and
testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was
with the Father and has appeared to us.” 1 John 1:1-2
Jesus is the one
who is life, the source of life, and the one who reveals life. He is the Word
of God – both a person and the message of God. The revelation of God, fully
human and fully divine.
Today is the last word in the Advent Words Challenge. Feel free to continue to share you creative response on social media using #adventwords2021 or in the Words Challenge Facebook Group.
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