Jesus: Truly Human, Completely God Always
Daily Scripture
John 1:14-18
14 The Word became flesh
and made his home among us.
We have seen his glory,
glory like that of a father’s only son,
full of grace and truth.
15 John testified about him, crying out, “This is the one of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is greater than me because he existed before me.’”
16 From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace;
17 as the Law was given through Moses,
so grace and truth came into being through Jesus Christ.
18 No one has ever seen God.
God the only Son,
who is at the Father’s side,
has made God known.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
Ancient pagan gods were uncaring toward humans. Christians said “the Word” was different. “The Word became flesh”—neither Greeks nor Jews believed God could bridge a gap that wide. Based on today’s text, the bishops at Nicaea said the light was fully God, one of us yet vastly more than just one of us. “In Jesus, the fullness of God’s glory, God’s loving character—in today’s terms, his ‘heart’—is finally revealed.” *
- The poetry of Genesis said “in the beginning” God made the world, and declared it good (Genesis 1:31). But many widely accepted philosophies in John’s time, such as Philo’s, said the physical world (“flesh”) was so corrupt and evil that a truly good God could have no contact with it. In what ways did Jesus, the Word who “became flesh,” cast light on what it means for you to be fully human? How did the Nicene Creed unambiguously affirm that important belief?
- Being born is the way each one of us enters the world to begin a new life. John, taking his cue from Jesus (cf. John 3:3-8), said the type of life Jesus offered to everyone is so fresh and filled with divine energy that it’s like being born anew as a child of God. When did your spiritual journey start? In what ways has walking with Jesus given you a whole new life?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you for becoming flesh and for giving me the authority and power to be born anew as a child of God. Thank you for my new life. Amen.
GPS Insights
Denise Mersmann
Denise Mersmann, who serves as the Care Coordination Director for the churchwide Care Central department at Church of the Resurrection, wrote today's Insights.
I don’t actually remember when my relationship with Jesus started. Raised in a small-town Methodist church, surrounded by most of my extended family, the relationship was always there. I didn’t have a particular ‘ah ha’ moment when something clicked and I suddenly connected with Jesus.
I don’t ever remember a time when I doubted the basics of my faith. I just accepted that Jesus was the son of God, that he loves me just as I am and that no matter what I do, good or bad, Jesus will continue to love me.
There is strength and comfort in that absolute belief. But one result was it was easy to take that relationship for granted. My relationship with Jesus is a lot like my relationship with my family. They are always there, loving, supporting, no matter what I do. And that too, is easy to take for granted.
I think the reason that I could so easily accept that Jesus loves me, is because I can put a face on him. He looks similar to the people who love me. If my family can love me unconditionally, then I could believe that Jesus does too.
I am not a theologian, nor a great Bible scholar. But I do know, beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is a God who loves me so much that he sent his Son to help me understand his great love. He provided a connection that I could relate to. Jesus gives me that link from what I am able to understand to something much bigger. And that link has held tight and kept me connected even when I might not have deserved it.
Just like my own family, who love me through thick and thin, my Heavenly Father will never turn his back on me and will be with me no matter what.
© 2024 Resurrection: A United Methodist Church. All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible (p. 9220). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
