The beauty of freshly fallen snow has brightened my day, Father, regardless of the lack of sunshine. I find it encouraging to see all the brown and seemingly dead views covered in radiant white! In You, all old things are made new!
John 1:1 (<<click here to read the passage)
My son, Massey, recently received his doctorate in Aerospace Engineering. It was a huge accomplishment. And by no means was it a walk in the park. Because things got switched up on him, and by no choice of his own, it was a grueling six-year endeavor. It involved innumerable hours of blood, sweat, and tears. But we are so proud that he came through it victoriously. We had faith that that would be the case for him but honestly, it was totally up to him. If he had decided that enough was enough and thrown in the towel, that would have ended everything for him. It was his effort and heart and “stick-to-it-iveness” that got him through to the end.
Accompanying him along his journey was his advisor, whom we all came to refer to as Dr. G. Now Dr. G oversaw Massey’s progress from beginning to end. He saw the big picture of what needed to happen. He was over Massey and could be an encouragement…and in some cases a discouragement depending on what was said and what was expected. He communicated his will, such as it was, but it was not up to him to make it happen. He oversaw all that took place, but he did not do the work. That was Massey’s responsibility. He sat outside all the blood, sweat, and tears.
Many of us have been in similar situations – in school, at work, maybe even at home. Now I want to make one thing very clear, the fact is that in no way does Dr. G. or any of us come close to being the One to whom our passage refers. I just wanted to get our minds going in the right direction.
We must understand that the Apostle John was not writing a biography of Jesus, but instead, it was a thematic presentation of Jesus’ life. * He, John, was establishing the unarguable fact that, yes, Jesus was man but he was also God.
It’s a lot to wrap our minds around but regardless it is the truth. John begins his Gospel with the statement, In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ)…
You see the Word that is Christ (which means Anointed One), who we know as Jesus, in the beginning, and the Amplified Bible expounds saying, [before all time] was. The Word was…
What I was trying to help us to understand is the fact that Jesus is eternal. He always has been, and he always will be. He exists outside of time. (Now that’s a tough nut to crack!) Before all time Jesus was and when time ceases to exist, Jesus will be.
He sees all that has transpired with His creation. He sees us – individually – amid all the joy and heartache. He sees us in the throws of our blood, sweat, and tears. He is not so above us that He cannot understand all we go through but He sees the big picture. He sees us smack dab in the middle of eternity. Truly a speck of dust in the vast cosmos of it all. Yet…though we may be inconsequential, smaller than small, and of extremely little worth, He does not see us that way. To Jesus, we have the utmost value. To Jesus, we are held in high esteem and though we have decided enough was enough and thrown in the towel, in essence irreparably separating ourselves from Him, He sacrificed His very life so that He could bring that separation to an end.
Lord Jesus, help us to see us in Your eyes. We are of so little value that it might as well be no value at all but because You see us as valuable, we are valuable. Enable us to embrace that worth. For when we begin there, we can then start to move onward and upward. Amen.
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
Feb 1st, 2021, Mon, 5:16 pm
