I have been craving writing again! I took a break from writing our bible studies for this Beth Moore book, which has been awesome, but I just can’t stop this itch to write. So I think for the next couple of days I will use this blog to scratch that itch! For some reason, God has been leading me to the book of John. So that is where I will begin today. Join me if you’d like, it’ll be a blog-bible study! =)
Just a little background on John for those who might care, John is part of the four gospels of the bible. Mathew, Mark, Luke…..John. What is a gospel? What makes it stand out from the rest of the bible? Good question! The four gospels were written to share just that, the simple gospel of God’s saving grace! The neat thing about the book of John is that it was written almost 30 years after the other three gospels. I find that truly amazing as this book contains many scriptures such as John 3:16 that are quoted more than any other scripture of the four gospels. Kinda like God saved the best for last!
John was an apostle of Christ in fact it has been said, “the disciple whom Jesus loved”. Not that I think Jesus had favorites but let’s face it……….most likely Peter and Judas weren’t up there at the top of the list!! ha! =) John’s heart is revealed so clearly throughout this book. It’s almost like looking at the heart of Christ, John was completely devoted to Jesus and getting his message out! Mmm…..good example to follow. Having a heart like Jesus and the message that He brought, how much better can it get?!!
John 1:1-2 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” I love how John starts off using this message FIRST. It was like he was establishing exactly where he stood on everything before his message even began. So many times I’ve listened to someone on TV or on the radio and I’ve often thought to myself, “Are they really aligned with scripture? Do they really know what they are talking about? Should I be listening to them?” Not with John, he lays it ALL out, and says this is the way it was, and this is where I stand! I just love that! There’s no questioning where he’s at!
So let’s break this scripture down a little closer, just to clarify where he stands on this. “In the beginning….” This is going all the way back to Gen 1:1: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Through this we can identify that John definitely understood creation and that God was the maker of it all, John affirming where he stands: God and the Word are one. I can imagine perhaps that many people were questioning the messages that Matthew, Mark and Luke brought to the world. John is the only author that starts his message off making this clear. Although Luke does make sure that he started off saying that everything he was writing about was accurate, it’s not the same as John stating the fact about the deity of Christ first. Perhaps this is why this book was written 30 years after the others. Maybe God revealed to John that the message needed to be very upfront, maybe people just weren’t “getting it”.
I think about people who have come to know Christ at a later time in their lives. Often these people have heard the message of The Christmas Story, and The Easter Story but they never hear it laid out to them in such a real way. I feel like that was what John is trying to do through this book! He’s like this, “Look this is the way it was and is, so listen up!” There are no drawn out facts and blood lines and all of that stuff which can be rather boring (just to be honest), John gets right down to the message. So let’s keep going!
Verse 3: “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” This is simply John again stating his case, Everything is God’s and He made it all! No questions about that!
Ok……..here’s where it gets GOOD!!! Verse 4-5: “In him was life and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness but the darkness has not understood it.” My footnotes in my bible tell me that the term “life” is used 36 times in this book!!! Whoa! That’s a lot! I don’t know about you, but I’m thinking that if John is using this word 36 times, I’d better listen up! Well, ok I just read another commentary that says he used it 37 times! So, I don’t know which is right, but regardless, John’s got good stuff to come from this word!
Life……….what does that word mean to you? For me, personally (hee hee, bible study girls will laugh at that! I was FOREVER using that word in our last study!) the word Life means forever…it means to be free, to be happy, to be made whole. I think about the times I’ve said to other’s, “that person needs to get a life!” But YES, we all need to get LIFE, but not the kinda life you might be thinking of. The lives we live here on this earth are not what’s going to sustain us. Goodness………my life gets, busy, old, boring, frustrating, tired, weary…….that is not the LIFE that John is referring to! The life John is referring to is the everlasting life that Jesus offers you and me each day. The “life” of eternity with Christ. The life of being made whole, complete and most importantly FREE. Yes, my friend, life in Christ is WAY better than any kind of life you’ll have here on this earth.
Ok well, I’ve had way to much fun writing and have spent way to long on this today! I’ve got so much “life” stuff that has to get done! hee hee!! I’ll be up an at em first thing tomorrow and we will press on through this book! It’s going to get really good, especially the next couple of verses, I wish I could just sit here all day and write but, duties await! Well, I hope that you have a blessed beautiful day, it’s so pretty here in NC!
