Wednesday, February 25, 2009

You see Jesus…you see God

Theme: Week 1- Jesus as God Incarnate
Theme for 6 Weeks- Who is Jesus and what difference does it make?

Read John 1:18; 12:44-46

One of the questions that surfaces when talking about Jesus as divine, and the definitive revelation of God, is the question of all those people who lived before the time of Jesus on earth. How would they have the nature and being of God revealed to them? Is it fair that they were not given this visible revelation of God? Is Jesus necessary?

The questions could continue along that line. This is not the setting to explore this more fully, but I would respond, in part: it doesn’t seem fair from my limited, finite vantage point, I will never be able to unpack the nuances of God’s timing, and I will just live with gratitude for this concrete picture of God in the person of Jesus.

Jesus, this man from Nazareth, lived approximately 2,000 years ago…and, was God among humanity. Concrete. Visible. We have not seen God, but we have in Jesus. “No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known. (John 1:18). Jesus, in his words, says that if we see him, we have seen the Father (John 12:45).

I would echo the importance Greg Boyd gives to this very truth, “To think of Jesus Christ, therefore, is to think of God. It is impossible to overemphasize the importance of this fact.” (p. 55, Seeing is Believing)

With expectancy, hope, and life-giving urgency I want to listen to the Word and words of Jesus, observe closely the way in which he lived, and continue to grasp the way in which Jesus died and the meaning of his death (and resurrection). Because…because when we see Jesus, we see God. And, that is the center and where we will find life.

Question: In the midst of our busy, often preoccupied, lives, how can we more effectively see and hear what Jesus has to say to us?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me to have my mind open to hear you and your words. Enable me to be more keenly aware as to what you are revealing about the Father from your life, the way you treated others, your choice of stories you told, and the way you lived and died. Keep me alert, for when I see you I see God, for you were God among us. Thank you for choosing to reveal yourself to us in this way, and may I be more transformed into your likeness this very day. In your name I pray. Amen.

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