I’m sitting down right now and reading John with fresh eyes and an excited heart to see where God takes us in this. We have 21 days until the the ‘Secondhand Jesus’ finale…so conveniently there are 21 Chapters in John…a chapter a day…here we go!
Something Francis Chan said has always stuck with me…hope you will take it to heart ‘I refuse to live the remainder of my life where I am right now, stagnating at this point.’ That is the attitude of someone trading Third Party Passion for First Person Experience.
Here we go…There is something powerful about John 1. The Christology (Jesus nature and person) and Incarnational (God becoming human) truth held in it are amazing but in a practical and serious manner…John in Vs 1-5 and 14 depicts God becoming man. Step back and think about that for a second, it sets the stage for this entire Gospel. God, infinite, Huge, and perfect…became something very imperfect, human, yet lived a perfect life.
Take a quick look at Vs. 6-8…could this be said about your life? John (the Disciple) is referring to John the Baptist here with certainty that his life had changed the world, not because of him but because he came to tell the world or ‘Testify about the Light (Jesus).’ Could someone someday write that about your life…with certainty? Just a thought.
In reality…for us to know God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit…we have to experience them. I adore Vs. 34 because John’s evident affection for Jesus wasn’t born out of reading a book…or even hearing a story…it was born out of a ‘Firsthand Experience.’
“I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”
Without Hesitation…John knows Jesus, firsthand…has touched Him, spoken to Him and wept with Him. If we are going to trade in Third Party Passion for Firsthand Experiences there is a requirement…We have to be able to declare that we have encountered the Son of God, no excuses, not just quips and quotes from books and speakers, but an actual experience of us and Him.
The heart of John 1…there is a potential for actual encounters with Jesus. Not through fun interactive story telling, not a movie, not a cute Facebook comment, but in moments with Him, and actual conversation…and yes conversation includes Him talking back…
live//PC
