John 1 for our World
Our world is aching for God. People groups around the world (including your own people group!) are yearning for purpose and safety and wholeness, and yet they are wasting away at the mercy of capricious spirits and futile idols. What beauty is to be found in belonging to God as His child?
John 1:12-13 tells us that all who receive Jesus and believe in His name are given the right to become children of God. Being a child of God is not something that happens apart from a welcoming submission to the presence and power of Jesus. God Himself gives us the right to become His children when we receive Him and believe in His name.
So, why is this good news for the world? What good news is there for the Buddhist monk or the African mother or the hurried Chicago-native to willingly let go of all they have trusted in and submit to the authority of Jesus? What good news is there for us as we explain this to them?
1. To Belong to a New Identity: When someone trusts Christ for salvation, they are given a new identity (John 1:13; 3:3-7). They eternally belong to God and are united forever in a family with all who have believed. Our new identity and unity in Christ transcend languages, cultures, countries, and centuries. Praise God – you are united with people all over the world!
2. To Know and Be Known: Jesus makes God known to us (John 1:18). We can know His character – His steadfast love, His free grace, His perfect righteousness – and can draw near to be known and loved and welcomed by Him. Receiving Jesus gives the nations a chance to come, burdened and heavy-laden, and know God as He is truly – gentle and lowly (Matthew 11:28-30).
3. To Receive from His Fullness: Those of us who have followed Christ have tasted of His goodness, and we know that He is full of mercy and patience, grace and kindness (Psalm 34:8). John 1:16 reminds us that those who are children of God receive from His fullness. He never runs out – like waves on the shore, His children receive grace upon grace upon grace.
4. To Have Darkness Overcome: The life of Jesus in our lives cannot be overcome by darkness (John 1:5). The nations can know that the darkness they have known for their whole lives can be extinguished by the light of Jesus. The striving, the sacrifices, the penance, the weight of sin, the endless fear – all of this can be overcome in the name of Jesus!
I once heard an African woman give this testimony of her salvation: “When I received Jesus, I took Him with both hands.” May the nations receive Jesus, taking Him with both hands, and may we be faithful to declare that receiving Him, being a child of God, is the most beautiful thing in the world.