The Word of Life, Known and Shown
The life was made manifest, and we saw it, and testify to it. (I John 1:2)
I John 1:2; Luke 1:2; Acts 1:8, 5:32, and 10:39; Acts 13:31; II Pet. 1:16
What Is God Saying?
John's writings, both the Gospel and the Letters, are comparatively late so far as the New Testament is concerned. They appeared near the close of the First Century. At the time of John's recorded messages, more than half a century had passed. The faith born of the Resurrection was proclaimed by witnesses to the Cross and the Resurrection. Many scoffed at this new faith. There were others, known as Gnostics, who taught a complete distinction between the spiritual (which is pure) and the material (which is evil). They counted themselves to know the truth about God better than anyone else. As such they were the self-appointed cleansers of the church. They must rid it of the dead wood, such as the teaching of Jesus' incarnation. If spirit alone is good and matter is completely evil, the incarnat10n would be impossible and the great fact that ‘the Word became flesh and dwelt among us’ would be rendered null and void. For John, that price was too high. Jesus, God Himself incarnate, really lived. His material body was seen and touched. Those who were with Him must testify to that great essential truth. If Christ did not become human to die for human sin, there is no Christian faith.
How Does This Apply To Us?
We were not eyewitnesses of Jesus in the days of His flesh, but God, who appeared in human flesh, has promised through His Holy Spirit to be present with us always. Jesus was known then and shown then by eyewitnesses. Jesus is known to us now through the eternal Word of Life but He is shown now in our day-by-day lives. If the same Jesus who became flesh and dwelt among men is alive in our hearts, we can and must be His witnesses now.
Pray With Me
Lord God, out of the impenetrable silence of infinity, You have spoken. It is wonderful to hear Your still, small voice when doubt and fear are silenced. It is good to know that beyond that curtain which our minds can never lift there is a presence. I have heard Your voice in the sea and on the wind, in the stirrings of the forest, in the falling of the rain, and in the song of birds. I have heard Your voice in prophetic utterance and the imperturbable march of history. Most wonderful is it to know that Your very life has been manifest for people to see and to share, to possess and to declare.
‘The life was made manifest, and we saw it, and testify to it.’ It is shown to be known. Let nothing hinder me from knowing what has been shown. Remove all doubt. Let Your calm, sure light drive back the fear and uncertainty. Awaken the slumbering conscience. Smite the sheer, dead weight of mental laziness until I give myself to the holy and beautiful contemplation of Your life manifest in Christ. I ask Your forgiveness for the many times I have withheld the glory of Your saving love and truth. Forgive the times when unyielded desires and unblessed liberties have caused the image of Christ to be obscured in me.
God, forgive and remove those flaws, born by moments of disloyalty and nourished by hours of carelessness, which have caused the Christ I have known in grace to be shown in disgrace. Lord, this is no light and whimsical yearning. It goes deep. Without it, I seem to live but die. With it, I seem to die but live. As He is known, so may He be shown, in all my words and all my ways, through all my deeds and all my days.
To the glory of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Moving On In The Life of Prayer
Listen, then pray. We read the Word of God so that His truth may shine in our hearts. We pray for grace to make God's truth visible in our lives. He has touched us with love, are we sharing that blessing? We have been comforted, are we comforters? We have been forgiven, are we forgiving? This is the prayer that counts and it leads to a life on which God can count. God, in Jesus Christ, is known to be shown.
