Read John 1:1-5
A few years back, I stumbled across a Facebook post from a high school classmate, who had recently become a New Age life coach. He asked: “What would you do if you knew the universe had your back?” A fascinating phone call ensued because I was intrigued by his provocative question, and I had questions of my own: did he think that the universe – that vast expanse of stars and galaxies – had a personality? If it did, what made him think that it was positively inclined towards us? How would we find this out? If we could answer “yes” to these questions, what peace and assurance it would give us—what boldness!
The Word is a He
What if we realized, however, that Christianity makes an even more provocative claim than this? In the first chapter of his gospel, John tells us that in the beginning there was God, and with him was the Word (John 1:1-3), and through this Word all things—including this entire universe—were made. In John’s day, many would have understood the Word (logos in Greek) as the logic, or the laws and principles that permeated an orderly, yet impersonal universe. And yet this Word was not an it, but a he—a he who created all things and wields all things for our good. Behind all the laws of this universe is the towering presence and power of God’s eternal son, Jesus. Water freezes at 32°F because of him, and light travels at 186,282 miles per second at his command.
God is for Us
In other words, there is a person holding together this universe, and that person is unswervingly for us. He is so completely for us that he took on human flesh and moved into our world. As John writes: The word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth…and from his fullness we have all received grace upon grace. (John 1:14-16)
What would you do if you knew that God was for you?
Written by Ben Friedman
Artwork by Meredith Free, Creative Word, 2013
