Reading
John 1:1-18
Devotion
Peace be with you!
Life is one great mystery. You start out as a little baby, dependent on everyone. As you grow, you become more independent and less willing to be controlled. You begin forming your own personality and making your own decisions. Over the years, you transform into an adult with changing responsibilities and dreams. You never know where God will lead you; just when you have life all figured out, God throws you a curveball. The mystery of life is discovering how you will impact the world when you are gone.
As a Biblical scholar and a creative writer, I love the opening of the Gospel of John – the mystery, the poetry, and the deep sense of being connected. The rich opening draws you into the story, naming God the Father as the main character. The author of the Gospel of John opens with “in the beginning.” We remember these words from the creation story in Genesis 1; they cause us to reflect on the beginning of time. When the author adds “was the Word,” we begin to imagine Jesus Christ being with God the Father since the beginning. The possibility of Jesus always being with the Father seems far-fetched, yet the mystery of the Gospel lies in God making the impossible possible.
Jesus is born from a virgin. Jesus is the light of the world who will give us grace upon grace. Jesus is the Word made flesh. In the mystery of the Word, God makes the impossible possible.
The mystery of the Christian faith is not if Jesus walked the earth but how God made it possible and how it impacts us. Christianity is largely about having a relationship with God and about building a community with other believers. We walk on the earth with God by our side to guide us through the darkness. Our relationship with Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit – impacts how we live our lives and how we impact others. One of life’s greatest wonders is how our small acts of kindness (opening a door for a stranger, paying a person’s bus fair, or giving out chocolate) can change how others view us as people.
The real answer to answering the great mystery of life is looking at our relationships with each other and with the Triune God. How we treat others through our relationships will determine how we will impact the world.
God so loves the world that he sends his only begotten son to walk with us and to die for our sins. God desperately wants to be in a relationship with each one of us. The only way that relationship is possible is through the death and resurrection of Jesus for our sins. God the Father opens up our phone lines to him through Jesus Christ.
The mystery of God’s master plan is not for us to solve; ours is simply to discover and answer our own individualized callings. You may never understand how you have an impact in making God’s plan possible, but he is using your relationships to impact the world around you to carry out his plan.
Come, O Lord, come!
Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for making the impossible possible. Help us to impact the world through our relationships with others and with you. Lead us to build communities where we lift up your name and where we can impact the world. Be with us as we walk the earth. Thank you for leaving your master plan a mystery and yet helping us to be faithful to our part in it. Amen.
Works Cited
Thanks to the Triune God – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Reflective Questions
Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below. Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the behavior covenant by commenting on it.) You can answer as many questions as you would like.
- What mysteries do you wish could be solved?
- How do you hope you impact the world?
- How do your relationships with others impact you?