John 1:(1-9) 10-18 (NRSV)
Read John 1:(1-9) 10-18 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Verse 2He was in the beginning with God. Verse 3All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being Verse 4in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.
Verse 5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. Verse 6There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. Verse 7He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. Verse 8He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. Verse 9The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. Verse 10He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. Verse 11He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. Verse 12But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, Verse 13who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. Verse 14And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.
Verse 15(John testified to him and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.'") Verse 16From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. Verse 17The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Verse 18No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.
Devotion
From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. What does John mean by that? On one level he means that you cannot exhaust God's grace. Receive it today, use it right now and there's still more for tomorrow. Looked at from another perspective it is also true that grace builds upon grace.
That was the central plot line of the movie "Pay it Forward," in which a middle school teacher gives his incoming class of seventh graders the assignment to design an experiment that will change the world. Surprisingly, one student accepted the challenge, designed his experiment, implemented it in real life and did indeed change the world. A kindness received results in a kindness shared. When those acts of goodness are experienced between strangers, they truly become parables of grace. That is what grace does. It changes our world.
As the pastor in a church, I constantly witness people who enact their own parables of grace. An act of kindness, one sacrificing time or money to do something on behalf of another—such graceful gifts make an impact. And often we see lives are changed. It is truly difficult to receive grace and not be moved to gratitude. Often the only form of thanks that seems appropriate is to pay it forward to someone new. You are a recipient of this grace right now. To whom will you pay it forward? Is there any way you might build a New Year's resolution around the very idea of receiving and sharing grace? Go ahead, give it a try, there is grace in abundance!
Prayer
(I challenge you to name three blessings, large or small, that you have received this Christmas season.) Lord, all gifts are ultimately from you, but I give you thanks for those who have touched my life with help, with encouragement, with love and with grace. Make me sensitive to the people I will meet in the coming days, so that I might see those opportunities you present through which I might share with others the love and grace with which I have been gifted. Amen.