He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name,
he gave the right to become children of God,
John 1:11-12
We began our study of John’s Gospel several weeks ago, right at the start of the pandemic. Since we have not been able to meet together during this time, I thought it best to focus our attention on getting through these difficult days. But now, here we are, several weeks in to a lock down and my heart is longing for a return to something more like our “normal” time of worship. And so I think that getting back to our study of the John with it’s clear focus on Jesus and His power to save will be good medicine for our souls!
When we began with John 1:1-5 back on March 15, we were introduced to the One is God and Who, as the Son, has always existed in the presence of God. That is His identity! “The Word was with God and the Word was God” (v 1). Then we saw His activity. Not only has He existed from all eternity, but “all things were made through Him” (v 3) He is our Creator! Nothing in this universe exists that Jesus did not cause to exist. And then, finally, we saw His power! Not only is He the Creator of all that is, but He is also the source of all life and the unconquerable Light of Salvation that shines in the darkness (v 5)!
That is the One John is writing about and we need to hear about! Because this is the most important story in the universe! It’s a story that not only has the power to bring comfort, it’s also a story that has power to save because it’s True! And beginning in vv 6-14 we will see how the One Who is True left eternity to enter our world that, through Him, we might be saved! In Christ, the True Light has come to shine in our souls! We return to that story today!
So hang in the there brothers and sisters! Our time of social distancing will soon be over and we will have the joy of meeting again face to face!
Let’s keep our eyes on Jesus, our Light and our Hope!
Pastor Scott