About a week ago, some friends mentioned that they would like to start a Bible study on the gospel of John. We haven’t begun yet, but I thought I’d get a head start and post my own personal reflections here. It’s just so much easier to understand the Bible when you put your thoughts down in writing – kind of like taking notes in class.
By the way, I’ve been going to a new church lately, which I love. You can find their websites here and here.
I’m going to take it slow through John because I don’t want to miss anything, so here are the first five verses:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” — John 1:1-5
I like these first few verses. They are so simple and profound. In the beginning, there was God, and he created everything. Pretty simple, right? :)
I like this idea of the Word being a particular aspect of God. Some people have a problem with the Trinity, or with Jesus being God. I think sometimes they struggle with the idea of God being one, but also being separate.
I have to say, I’ve never been entirely comfortable with the modern church description of the Trinity – “A triune God, three in one.” I can understand how Jews sometimes accuse Christians of polytheism.
The three major aspects of God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – are definitely good to recognize, but I also like the Jewish way of thinking. There is one God, but he has many names. Provider, Savior, Purifier, Protector, Creator, and so on. In fact, since God is infinite, it’s not unreasonable to assume that he has an infinite amount of names to describe his greatness. The only thing that really limits God is our own human language, and that doesn’t so much limit God as it limits our ability to understand him.
When I think of the different aspects of God, I like to think more of a line than a triangle. To get what I mean, take a piece of thread or string and stretch it out on a table. Now imagine that the string goes on forever – it has no beginning or end. This string represents God.
Now take another shorter piece of string, and place it underneath the first string. This string represents mortal life (or human history). It has a beginning and end.
Now pinch the middle of the first string so that it comes to a point, and make that point touch the second string. That is how I understand an aspect of God showing up in my life. It’s still one string, but I am only seeing one point of it right now.
(If you want to get really fancy, you could make the top string woven out of three fibers, representing the three major aspects of God.)
Anyway, that’s how I get it.
The second part of these verses reminds me to be thankful. God created me. He also created everything that I enjoy. No matter how depressed or frustrated I may feel sometimes, there is something I can thank God for.
God created mankind in his image, but he also created the animals and plants and sunsets. I’ve always said that a person’s art is very revealing of that person’s heart. If you doubt God’s goodness, just watch a sunset sometime. Even though it may not help you understand your situation, I hope it helps you find peace.
The third part of these verses is awesome. In God is life, and that life is the Light of men. It shines in the darkness, and the darkness can’t comprehend it.
Everything about our existence is meaningless if we don’t have God, because God is life. Without life there is death – emptiness – meaninglessness.
That’s why you should choose God over everything. Would you really deny God just to hang on to an unhealthy relationship?
I love something a friend once said: “It’s okay if you’re not okay, but it’s not okay for you to stay that way.”
I can immediately think of several people who are making very poor decisions. Some claim to follow Christ, others do not. It’s okay for me to hang out with them – I care about them, after all! But what is true friendship? Ignoring their poor decisions because I don’t want to get in an argument? Or would it be better to call them out, to tell them the truth?
Obviously you should let prayer and scripture guide you, but in many cases, it is better to say something, even if it costs you your friendship. I mean, if your friend was hooked on drugs, wouldn’t you want to intervene for the sake of that friend’s health, even though they might hate you for it? Then why wouldn’t you speak up if they were doing other stupid stuff?
You have to be careful, of course, because you are NOT the lord and master of their lives. You can’t go around always telling people what they should and shouldn’t do. But in a clear cut case of, “Hey, this thing your doing is very much against what Jesus teaches,” then pray, make sure you have a spirit of humility (as opposed to self-righteousness), and then carefully speak the truth.
The timing has to be right, and your heart has to be right. If you’re set there, then go for it.
You know, as a follower of Christ, you just have to expect that certain people aren’t going to like you. Of course we all mess up – I’ve done dumb things in the name of Christ (and dumb things in the name of my own self interest). But even when we’re doing everything right, and we want to bless other people, there are going to be people out there who hate us for it.
You just can’t sweat it. I mean, who cares if you lose your job or your home or your life for the sake of Christ? Didn’t Paul say that any loss for the sake of Christ should be considered gain? What is a job or a friendship or a possession really worth if it’s tainted by compromise?
I think that’s what Jesus meant when he said that whoever doesn’t hate his own brother is not worthy of him. I think he meant that you have to put God above everything and every relationship you have. You need to risk sharing God with your family, even if they hate you for it, because no matter how strong your family relationships are, they are worthless without God.
Anyway, you can read John and come to your own conclusions. I have to go to work. Until next time!
I want to just quickly add a reminder. Jesus said that before you remove the speck from your brother’s eye, you need to get the plank out of your own eye.
Remember that the most important relationship you have is your personal relationship with Christ. Then remember we are all here to help each other succeed.
I appreciate what you have to say. I am certainly not worried about whether you see a plank in your eye–we all have them and are always reevaluating whether we are addressing them. I am very proud of what you are learning.
What Janie said.