FOCUS Day Three | John 1:14-18

DAY THREE | John 1:14-18

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ” And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

Recently, my family and I were traveling across the United States with a dear friend from Brazil. We were excited to show her things that she had never seen before and spent the first few days of our trip pointing out familiar landmarks that we had grown to love and appreciate. Next, we traveled to Sedona, and the Grand Canyon, places that we had only visited once before. While we were excited to share these moments with her, there was also a sense in which we were re-seeing the beauty of God’s creation like it was the first time.

The first morning that we were in Sedona, we were so excited to see what our friend’s reaction to the beautiful rock structures would be. Because we had arrived after dark the night before, she had no idea what to expect. We had all agreed to keep our curtains closed and that no one would peek out of the windows until we were altogether and could share the experience.

I woke up very early the next morning – crazy early, way before anyone else moved. I remember thinking that I could slip out and watch the sunrise. I went to the door, but decided against it in order to honor our family agreement. Hours passed before my wife, Adriane joined me. Then we waited together for Abigail and Alana to get up so we could finally look outside.

As we were waiting, I realized that what had started as a fun way to watch Alana’s reaction had actually become much more. By the time that the girls were both ready to go outside, I felt like the proverbial kid at Christmas. My heart was full of anticipation to take in the stunning scenery.

When the moment finally came to behold our surroundings, we weren’t disappointed. We went out on the back patio of the place that we were staying and could see the rich red rocks, stacked in what looked like a giant chimney. Then we went back inside and went room by room looking out the windows, in anticipation of what we might see. Finally, we went out onto the front patio and let out a collective gasp. There, filling our view was a panorama of one of the most incredible sights I had ever scene. It seemed surreal, almost otherworldly.

I turned to see Alana’s reaction, and her big smile almost swallowed her entire face. As I turned, I noticed that her reaction was mirrored on Adriane’s and Abigail’s faces as well. It was only then that I became aware that my own face was beaming in a huge grin.

We were all captured by the beauty of what we were seeing.

That revelation of the incarnation of Jesus in John 1:14 is one of the richest passages in the Bible. The fact that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us puts the multifaceted wisdom of God on display. I believe that the coming of Christ into this world, becoming one of us in order to redeem us and restore us to Father is one of the most stunning facets of the good news about Jesus.

But it is actually the next line of the passage that I want to call our attention to. And we beheld His glory… I believe that this short phrase communicates another beautiful aspect of the coming of Messiah to walk the earth and, as Eugene Peterson paraphrases in The Message, move into our neighborhood. Jesus came so we could behold (see) Him and His glory, and to reveal to us the glory of His Father.

We were created to behold Him, and become more like Him in the process. Beholding Him is an essential part of following Him. In fact, the more we learn to fix our eyes on Him, the more we see Him in glorious detail. I think that is an important part of what it means that of His fullness we have all received.

In much the same way that my family and I were fascinated by the beauty of the unique rock formations of the Arizona dessert, I believe that when we focus our lives on the life of Christ, our hearts come alive and we become hungry to see Him and know Him more.

On our last night in Sedona, we all went outside to look at the stars. As we turned our eyes towards the heavens, we could immediately see the constellations. Before we were finished pointing out Orion and the Big Dipper, more stars appeared, seemingly layer after layer. The longer we looked, the more we could see.

I pray that as you continue to gaze at Jesus, the more clearly you will see Him and find Yourself drawn to beauty of His glory and grace.

JOURNALING QUESTIONS // LINK TO PLAYLIST

Examine – How would you describe what this passage reveals about the life of Jesus?

MindShift – Is there anything about what you read in this passage that challenges the way you think about what it means to follow Jesus?

Prayer Focus – Is there any prayer that you can pray to co-operate with Holy Spirit to see your mind renewed to become more like Jesus?