Jesus, God’s Word

Everything I see, everywhere I look, all around me, above and below, I see You, God. It all comes from You, God; Your will, Your life, Your authority, Your Word behind every created thing. Every created thing has Your touch upon it: Your mark; light; goodness; purity; and wholesomeness. Everything in the created world speaks of You, God: the life springing up in my spring garden; the burst of growth which comes with the sunshine and which causes bulbs to thrust up out of the earth and daffodils to burst into colour; the hidden formation of a new baby in utero: ten tiny fingers, ten tiny fingernails, a smile, eyelashes, eyes, body, toes, ears, hair; and knitted together digestive system, nerves, blood, muscles. God, You’re wonderful!

I watch the house martins reconstructing their nest under my eaves from mud, beakful by beakful: the tiny eggs; the chicks; the chattering attentive parents. Then, the sudden breaking down of the nest as the fledglings sweep outwards and fly. God, this is Your work!

In You is life! Your handiwork shows me the way towards You. You’re the light of mankind. You put something in me which recognises the hateful and destructive – and distinguishes that from the beautiful and the wholesome, from kindness and nurture. Something turns on the light in me to recognise You.

I gasp to see the miracle of snow, the breath-taking cascade of reds and golds flooding the sunset sky, the transformation of bare trees into waving green, rivers, wild flowers, sunshine, rain. God! You are an active, present God! Your active Word all around us!

How You’ve wept that mankind turns away, wilfully, from recognising You!
And so, the Word came, in human flesh, to show us You. He slipped in, unobtrusively, quietly, showing Your kindness, Your love, Your humanity, Your holiness, in a way we can’t miss.

John the Baptist met Jesus and said, ‘I didn’t know who He was, but the One who sent me to immerse in water said to me, “The One on whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining, this is the One who immerses in the Holy Spirit”. And I have seen and borne witness that this is the Son of God’ (John 1:33-4).
The Son of God come to find me, to die for me and to bring me to back to You.

Prayer: God, I’m awestruck, I’m amazed, that You so loved the world that You sent Your Son, Your Word to become man. He slipped in among us to show us You. And He died as my sacrificial lamb, so that I can know You and live by Your Spirit. Thank You, God! Amen.