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, NIV).
The apostle John summarises his story about Jesus right at the start of his gospel. In chapter 1:14, he tells us three key points about Jesus, and if you stop to think about each one, they are all incredibly challenging.
The first thing that John tells us is that the Word became flesh. Next, not only did the Word become flesh, but he came to live among us.
Finally, because of this, humanity has seen his glory. From the start, we humans have always wanted to see the glory of God. Seeing the glory of God means seeing God as he really is, with nothing in between. We might have thought that meant seeing dazzling flashes of light and fireworks. But instead, what we saw was a Carpenter.
When you look at Jesus you are seeing the true Word of God. He became flesh because God loves you. He loves your flesh. He loves everything about you. God honours you by becoming one with you in your humanity.
When Heaven came down, the Word lived among us, and when you look at Jesus, you see the glory of God: the true essence of who God really is. You see a carpenter, giving his life in service, and as a sacrifice for his fellow men and women.
Heaven came down. Look at Jesus. He’s all you need.
Eli’s Reflection: Write down all the things that you value most in your religion. Now cross out everything you wrote down that isn’t specifically and directly about growing into a deeper relationship with Christ. Now, look at what you have left. That’s what’s most important!
Article supplied with thanks to Dr Eliezer Gonzalez.
About the Author: Dr Eli Gonzalez is the Senior Pastor of Good News Unlimited and the presenter of the Unlimited radio spots, and The Big Question.