How grateful I am for pausing to reconsider these three verses!
By Dean Collins
In the early weeks of January, the first chapter of John popped up in my new Bible-reading plan. Since the first 14 verses of John are often common reading material during Advent and parts of this text appear on Christmas cards and in Christmas sermons, I started to move on to the next passage with just a glance. Fortunately, my eyes locked onto verses 3, 4, and 5; and as they did, I found breathtaking encouragement for the day and for this new year!
As I mentioned last week, it is not uncommon to experience stress as we transition from one year to the next. Just because our calendars call it the holiday season doesn’t mean many hard realities suddenly disappear. They are simply put off for a minute. And putting something on the back burner might only allow it to thicken and seem even bigger when we get back to it.
Over the last few days, I have read these three verses over and over. As I read them and think about their implications, I have found myself reassured in many ways.
Verse 3 says this:
“All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
Jesus was at creation and is the master creator of everything. This means not only does he know everything about who we are, but he also knows and understands how everything and every system in the universe works and holds together. He knows how we think. He knows all about physics and biology. He knows about art and music. He knows how the human body works and what can interrupt physical health. The creator of the universe who is our Savior knows the design specifications and how to renew and restore broken stuff. That is very reassuring.
Verse 4 says this:
“In him was life, and the life was the light of men.”
God not only created us humans, he gave us life. In fact, he is the source of our lives. John would later say, “Apart from the vine we can do nothing.” The reason we can’t do anything apart from Jesus is because he is our life.
The last part of verse 4 reminds us that Jesus is our light. When we choose to follow him and obey him, we also reflect him. This is why Jesus can say, “You are the light of the world.” Without Jesus, the world would indeed be filled with darkness.
Verse 5 explodes with encouragement:
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
This sentence is filled with hope. Notice that the light “shines” in the darkness. It hasn’t stopped shining! John continued: “And the darkness has not overcome it.” This is so important to remember as we consider all the darkness in our world today. As we read the headlines concerning wars, crime, and many injustices, we must remember that no matter how much darkness we hear about or see, the darkness has not and will never overcome the light of Christ!
We will all experience some hard times this year. But no matter what happens, we can be assured that God is not surprised by it; he is alive and working in the middle of it, and his light will shine brightly and guide us all the way through it.
I will probably see a few more passages in my Bible-reading plan that will be tempting to skim through and even ignore. Today’s reminder is to slow down and read it because you never know what truth God’s living Word might reveal that brings hope and life.
Your time with God’s Word
John 1:1-14 ESV
BrianAJackson photo at istockphoto.com
To receive daily posts delivered directly to your inbox, complete the form at the bottom of our home page.
