“And the Word became flesh and lived among us,
and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.”
(John 1:14, NRSV)
During our Wednesday night Bible study, we have been working our way through the Gospel according to John. Recently, we discussed this verse, one of the most well-known and most profound sentences in the text. What amazed me was the multitude of ways that this passage has been phrased or interpreted by the variety of translators over the years. One such instance that really struck me during our study came from Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase, The Message, in which he began this verse in saying: “The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood…”
Did you ever stop to consider Jesus moving into your neighborhood? How would that change who we are, what we do, how we think and act? So often we think of what we read in the Bible as being far removed from our current place and time. Yet, as we approach this Easter season, don’t we celebrate that Jesus is alive and still at work around us still today? Through his Holy Spirit, Jesus is in our neighborhoods – yours, mine, everyone’s. Jesus is not a far off, distant thought in the back of our minds (or at least he shouldn’t be) but is the one made of flesh and blood who lived among us to help us understand God’s glory.
You see, Jesus is in the neighborhood when God’s glory is on display, and God’s glory is on display when are a part of Christ, following the example he set for us and being obedient to that which he taught us. Jesus is in the neighborhood when we live the Christian life in the world around us, not being isolated unto ourselves, but consistently building up the relationships we have been called to in loving God and loving neighbor.
Do you want to see great change in your neighborhood? Then perhaps it is time to ponder how you can help put God’s glory on display by following Jesus and being the Body of Christ where you live.
Always pondering,
Pastor Steve
