John 1:10-18 (NRSV)
Read John 1:10-18 on biblegateway.com
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
The Holy Spirit totally captured me as I read verse 14: “And 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.” Several years ago, I stood with another missionary pastor in the waters of the Jordan River as he read this passage out loud. As I imagined the physical appearance of God´s only Son, stepping into the water with me, I was filled with tears of joy. The imagined picture of perfect love and grace coming into the water was awesome.
The Word of God has such power that it can paint spiritual pictures in our hearts, souls, and minds of the fullness of God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—coming into our daily lives through water poured and Word proclaimed over us. What a precious gift!
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for coming down from heaven to reveal your presence and truth through your Holy Word. Thank you for your forgiveness and grace that comes through the faith you plant within us. Keep painting in our hearts and minds pictures of your physical and spiritual presence with us, so we may know that you are the only way, the real truth, and the life everlasting. Amen.
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