God Became Human

John 1:1-18

John calls Jesus "the Word"--kind of brings a new meaning to phrases I've used all my life, like "word to your mother." Word to your mother changes from being something that means general agreement to something that means, Hey, I wish your mom nothing left than the best friend ever.

Jesus was with God in the beginning, John says. So Jesus has been best friends with God from the start--which for God was forever ago.

John goes on: in Jesus was life. We get confused and say that the teachings of Christ (you know, loving your enemies, treating others as you'd be treated, giving a cloak away when you have two, etc) only apply to a certain extent in the real world. "Well, that's true," we say, "but... ." We love to add that "but." We are but masters. Masters of but. But according to John, in Jesus is life--so whatever we label life outside of friendship with Him is... well, not life! In other words, when we try to rationalize away the teachings of the best guy who ever lived by saying, well, He didn't entirely mean that, or He didn't mean that that way... I think John would take issue with that, and I think my best friend, who wrote the Bible as an autobiography, would also take issue with that.

This life is also light. As a guy who often feels like he's in fog, that sounds beautiful when I meditate on it. I often despair at the general feeling of apathetic confusion that surrounds me and fills me. Have you ever been apathetic or confused about the government? Or the reports of the media? Or the behavior of friends, children, or relatives? Jesus' light is so fierce that it burns away the dark fogs of apathy and confusion.

The light can shine into anything in the darkness, John says, but the darkness cannot darken into the light. The darkness just kind of sits there when the light shows up and hangs its jaw open and says, "Du-huh?" The darkness can't understand the light. The light is a superior force. It is only the absence of light--it is a non-thing. The light is dominant. It is an energy that moves inexplicably through the universe. Physicists don't fully understand what it is. And the Light gives eyes that really see and ears that really hear and hands that really feel.

Lord, give us ears that hear, eyes that see, and hands that feel.

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In high school I was taught that dramatic irony was when romeo took the poison over Juliet's sleeping body, thinking she was dead, only to then have her wake up, see her lover's dead body, and stab herself with a knife to end her life. I once heard on a documentary that Shakespeare wrote all the world's stories, and then anything written after that was simply a rewrite. But look at this: Jesus, who passionately loved the world, was not recognized by his lover. His lover killed him.

Time out: that's like if Romeo was, unbeknown to Juliet, diminished from rich prince to pauper. The pauper Romeo came to Juliet declaring his real identity to her, but though he told her he was Romeo, she killed him just for saying it.

But Shakespeare could have made it a step more dramatic if he really wanted to follow the story he stole R+J from: he could have somehow had Romeo make Juliet (and the whole world), and then he could have had Romeo rise from the dead and tell her that he still loved her despite what she'd done. Now that would have made a play.

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There's a transformation, a surreal mutation that takes place when we receive our friend Jesus. We become unnatural. No longer are we the product of our genes. No longer are we the product of a bad choice between two horny adolescents, or an "accident," or a "surprise," or the product of rape.

No. According to God, we've completely transformed into His kids, born straight out of His womb. We're not just his best friends--we're literally His flesh and blood.

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My dad had a best friendship with my grandpa, and he has always wanted that same friendship with me. I've despaired about it at times, because sometimes my dad and I haven't seen eye to eye, and sometimes I'm living on another side of the state or another part of the country.

But I now I count it little wonder that God tells me I should honor my dad. The longing that my dad has is the same longing that Christ has. Jesus was best friends with his father, and now he wants to be best friends with his sons and daughters. God, through my dad, has shown me in my dad's dream a glimpse into how He feels when I don't treat Him like a best friend or even show an interest.

Wow.

Suddenly, when I see this, my love for my dad grows to new fruition, and I love him and the emails he sends me and his views on politics and these United States of America. I love him ferociously, like the Lion of Judah has taught me to.

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The bible is a book written by my best friend, and it's about my best friend. It's kind of an autobiography that He wrote, but He got artistic and used different voice and genres and hundreds of characters.

My best friend is a really wild guy, but he's such a good guy, too. You really should read His book, you'd start to love Him.

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God, give us grace and truth; fill us with it, like milk, every day for the rest of our lives. Thank you.

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John writes that no one has ever seen you, my best friend--yet you, my best friend, have made yourself known.