Dwelling Among Us

 

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known. (John 1:14-18 ESV).

 

We’re almost there. I’ve almost finished all my projects and now it is just a matter of placing the finishing touches on each task before everyone begins to arrive. Taking a little time to write this devotional made me ponder the often repeated phrase: Jesus is the reason for the season. It has been used for many titles of books and articles; it hangs proudly as an ornament on our trees; and, it is even written in golden ink across our Christmas cards.  I do like it. The message is clear and points directly to Jesus. However, I wonder if it is really accurate theologically. I do not write that for the shock value. There is a certain truth that Jesus is not alone at the center of the Christmas story. He is indeed central to the story, but we must consider the effect of His birth, life, and death on us.

 

Being a devote people watcher, I cannot help myself from watching the facial expressions and body language of folks this time of the year as they rush to and from all of their tasks. While in a very crowded grocery store the other day, I couldn’t help but wonder if all those folks really knew why they were so busy getting ready for Christmas. I wondered if THEY knew Jesus. Then it dawned on me …THEY are the reason for the season, just like you and I. John said it so well in our reading today. The divine, eternal Word became flesh and dwelled among us!

 

Simply said, the season is Christmas. Christmas is JESUS, His birth. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him, should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)  Jesus came to earth; He lived to die, resurrected and sits on the right side of the Father. He did ALL this for US!  We are the ‘whosoever’.  WE are the reason for the season, the reason Jesus came! Even with all the self-interest, self-emersion and all the “I” focus today, I challenge us this Christmas to look into the eyes of those around us, consider THEM, and be you focused. Now that’s GREAT news indeed.