Year four of our four-year ABIDE schedule takes us through the fourth gospel in the days leading up to Easter. Each gospel writer tells the story of Jesus, but John begins the story much earlier than the others. Rather than describing His birth or genealogy, John goes all the way back—to the very beginning of the universe. Jesus never began to exist, for He is the eternal Creator of all that is. In John 1, Jesus is given many titles and names, but none are more profound than what He is called in the very first verse: “In the beginning was the Word.” Words communicate. Relationships deepen through the sharing of words. This tells us that we have a personal God who wants to relate to us personally. Jesus is God’s ultimate self-disclosure. If you want to know God, get to know Jesus, His best and final Word. He reveals God with clarity and precision. “And the Word was with God and the Word was God.” Now we are swimming in the deep end of the pool! How can Jesus be with God and yet be God at the same time? It only makes sense when we understand that God eternally exists in a loving unity of three equally divine persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As the second person of the Trinity, Christ has always existed (v 1-3). But at Christmas, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” With the incarnation of God’s Son, the infinite becomes finite. The invisible becomes visible. Eternity enters time as the Creator steps down into His creation. Never has someone come from so far and stooped so low! The word “dwelt” means “to pitch a tent.” It could literally be translated, He “tabernacled” among us. Jesus became a human being in order to pitch His tent in our neighborhood. “And we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Though our sin separates us from God, Jesus came to make known God’s grace. In Him, we see the supreme manifestation of God’s glory and goodness. No one can see God directly; that would be like standing a hundred yards from the sun. But as Moses learned, God can be seen if His glory is veiled. So we sing: “Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; Hail the incarnate Deity. Pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus, our Emmanuel” (v 14-18). In a world of darkness, Jesus shines as “the light of men.” In John’s gospel, light is the truth that God reveals to people so they may be saved. But this invasion of true light has divided the race. There are two ways to respond to Jesus: unbelief or belief. You can’t be neutral. You either believe or you don’t. To believe is to receive Him. And to receive Him is to have eternal life (v 4-13). For further meditation: