In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-5, 14, ESV)
Yes, there are golfers who talk a big game. They think they’re pretty good at golf, and they’ll tell you all about it. Then you go and play with them, only to discover they are not at all like their words. Amazing how humbling the sport of golf can be sometimes.
The life of Jesus makes for great reading no matter which gospel writer you choose.In the first half of John 1, we find the author speaking “big” about Jesus. We see the most important truth in all of the Scripture laid out before our very eyes—that Jesus, the Christ, is the Son of God. We see that this Jesus takes on flesh in human form, so that the atonement of sin can happen and be real. And then later in the chapter, we see John the Baptist proclaim, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
While John 1 lays the foundation for the book, the next 20 chapters of the book back up John’s words in the first chapter. Jesus performs many miracles and signs, showing those he encountered (and us, the readers) that Jesus is the Son of God. Eventually, Jesus prepares his disciples for his death, then goes to the cross to take away all sins before he rises again, triumphant over death.
That’s a lot of action! The life of this one man makes for great reading no matter which gospel writer you choose.
But before John closes his book, he reveals the purpose behind his particular account of Jesus. We find that purpose in John 20: “[These wonders and signs] are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John opened his gospel by telling us who he believed Jesus to be, then he wrote the rest of his book—the action that backed up the words—so we might believe also.
You see, the Bible is not like other books that are meant to be read and enjoyed, or read for factual learning, or read to help us process our life. The Bible can do all these things, but the response its writers—and its inspirer, the Holy Spirit—really have in mind is faith.
Brothers and sisters, I encourage you to focus on this: Jesus actually was the Son of God, who actually came to earth to live perfectly on my behalf, who actually died on that nasty cross to pay for the penalty of our sins, and who actually rose from the grave three days later. This is the truth of the Gospel. This is what we believe in. This is what we talk about. And ultimately, this is what changes us.
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Rosson Anderson
December 20, 2017
Copyright 2017 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.