Day 2: John 1:1-4
by Jason

Those of you who have read all the gospels will realise there are big differences between Matthew/Mark/Luke and John. The first 3 give the story, (Mark is very to the point, Matthew and Luke gives more detail). John gives more explanation and meaning to these narrations. He starts with ‘In the beginning…’ Any guess to the only other time that is mentioned in the Bible? (Hint: It’s at the start…).

In Istanbul, there is a museum that used to be both a church and a mosque, and in it they still have both Islamic and Christian decoration. This decoration helps us see one of special things about Christianity, that Jesus is more than just words on a page, more than just a character in a story that gives a ‘too good to be true’ message. These decorations have both arabic words that one might find in a mosque, but also pictures of Jesus. Jesus is the Word (notice it starts with a capital), and the Word became flesh.

The Word, the Bible, is lived out in Jesus’ life, and He became flesh and now is with us even today, in His Holy Spirit. All we need to do is ask to see Him, and we we will. Not in the way we see things normally, but the more we get to know Jesus, the more we see Him in our everyday life. The passage ends with talking about darkness and light, and Jesus’ life, the Word, is the Life of all mankind. And the Light wins, thats an amazing thing to thing about in the dark world we find ourselves in, and at this ‘literally’ dark time of year. Something to remember when you see all the advent lights around the city.

Ask Him today to show Himself you to. It might not be what you expect, but it will be special, and seeing Him might also mean just having that peace in your heart that He is there and in control.