The Word became flesh ................ Parables 597

May 26, 1998

When receiving entries for a writing contest, I was startled by the title on one manuscript: “I AM A WORD.” It was entered in a category asking writers to explain why they thought they should be writers.

We use words to communicate ideas, inform, teach, inspire and encourage. We use words to express our sense of personal identity, to tell others who we are, how we think and what is important to us.

Words are symbols for ideas or things. Using symbols has some risk for confusion because the listener may picture something different than what the speaker is trying to convey.

For instance, when we hear “word” we think of a collection of letters (written or spoken) that represent something. But when the ancient Greeks used “word” (or “logos” in their language) they had a different idea. For them, logos represented the basic element or “soul” of the universe, an undefinable reasoning or wisdom that controlled all things and could express itself in some understandable way. For that reason, “logos” is translated into English as “speech” or “word.”

People in the Western world usually avoid thinking in abstract terms. We are far more apt to use concrete words. For instance, if I say, “I am a woman.” my hearers would agree. If I say, “I am a word,” they might raise their eyebrows and mutter, “Oh sure, and what does that mean?”

My point? Language changes have limited our understanding of who Jesus is and what He said about Himself. John’s gospel begins with: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John is referring to Jesus as “the Logos” or “the Word.”

In the Greek culture where He was born, “logos” or “word” was a powerful expression of an infinite being. By using this term, John knew his readers would make some connections. For the Jew, the Old Testament was God’s written expression of His revelation to them. Now John is saying that Jesus is the living expression of a Being who is the “soul of the universe,” God Himself. He once revealed Himself to Israel and that revelation was recorded in printed form. Now He is revealing Himself in a human body to all who will accept Him.

Those who knew the Scriptures understood that God speaks. Now His expression was through a living man, Jesus Christ. When Jesus spoke, because He was “logos”His words were God’s words.

Does this heady stuff make any difference? Is it important today? Only if it is true. If Jesus Christ is God in human flesh, we must consider Him. What is God communicating to us through Him? Why are His words important? What is the message of His life?

If our universe is closed, God could not come in. However, Jesus said, “If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well.” In a world where “logos” can inhabit a human body and interact with people, it is possible to know God.

The Bible affirms that Jesus is more than a good man, more than a teacher or a prophet. His sinless life of doing good, and His death and resurrection prove He is more than mere human. He claimed to be God incarnate.

We need to consider what this means for us. If we believe what He said about Himself and take Him up on His offer of forgiveness and eternal life, He promises that we will enter into a relationship to One we can know personally, not just as a vague entity the Greeks called “the soul of the universe” but God Himself.

The best kind of communication .......... Parables 515

June 18, 1996

E-mail (short for electronic mail sent through computer modem) is revolutionizing communication. This week, I received messages from friends in Edmonton, Camrose and Papua New Guinea, a company representative in Toronto and several people and organizations in various places in the United States.

Some of these people I know personally but even though we have a face-to-face relationship, e-mail is more convenient than a telephone. Our schedules seldom match so rather than interrupt each other’s work, we can read and answer messages as time permits.

Some who send me e-mail are also members of the same writing group, or they work for a company with whom I do business. For instance, one e-mail was from a person who responded to my order for a software upgrade. She said it would arrive soon and it did.

Sometimes people connect through e-mail, develop a relationship, eventually meet face-to-face and get married. Intimate relationship building by e-mail would be risky by itself (too much can be masked) but such marriages illustrate e-mail can be used for more than business.

Obviously, e-mail has limitations. We do not use it for everything nor can we use it by itself to verify the reality or integrity of someone on the other end. Perhaps that is one good reason God did not wait for electronic inventions like e-mail, telephones or fax machines in order to reveal Himself to us. Instead, He worked through real people. Hebrews 1:1 says, “In the past, God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways...”

God spoke and the prophets wrote; one reason why the Bible is called the “Word of God.” While some say the Bible is written by men only, God ensured these authors were godly men who obeyed the His revelation and faithfully recorded it. Through them, generations have received His message and the Bible remains number one on best seller lists.

God did not reveal everything in written form. Hebrews 1:1 finishes, “...but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son.” Jesus is the ultimate communication from God, “...the Word made flesh.... the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being.”

In recent years, some argue that Jesus is only an idea, a representation of the truth about God, a nice thought but He did not really exist. Others say if He did exist, He was only a man and the stories are exaggerated; no one could have done the deeds attributed to Him.

However, as the written Word survives and thrives, so Jesus also outlasts those who deny Him. He remains the central figure of history, the one whose name and deeds are told and retold over and over. If what He did was mere exaggeration, why do the stories persist? In contrast, will the amazing stunts of modern illusionists be retold two thousand years from now? Could anyone eventually reverse these stories claiming elephants actually did vanish? Hardly.

I must admit that once I was not so sure about the reality of Jesus. Sometimes He seemed a myth, but in time, He convinced me, not with arguments but with a combination of His written Word and my own experiences.

His Word says, “I (Jesus) am returning to Him who sent me...(the Father) and I will send Him (Holy Spirit) to you. When He comes, He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin...”

Jesus promised that God’s Spirit would convince each person of their sinfulness. No sane individual would invent such a conviction, particularly because it includes personal and eternal condemnation. Only a higher authority can override our insistence on our own goodness.

Then, just as Jesus promised, the Spirit came and convicted me. This event plus His promise convinced me that Jesus is an actual person. God did exactly what He said He would.

God speaks in a whisper .................. Parables 434

August 16, 1994

In recent storms, lightning turned night almost to day, thunder shook the walls, and the wind even got our attention. Insurance companies describe those storms and their aftermath as “acts of God,” but, while God’s power may be illustrated by thunder and wind, it is not the only way He gets our attention.

Disasters usually bring God to mind though. Some raise an angry fist and shout at Him, “why me.” Others close their hands in prayer, even pull a dusty Bible off the shelf, and turn to Him for help. They are hoping He will somehow speak reassuringly.

Elijah, an Old Testament prophet and godly man, suffered what he thought was a disaster, then listened for God’s reassuring voice in a storm. To his surprise, he heard Him in another way.

Elijah had been divinely sent to confront the wickedness of King Ahab, his treacherous wife Jezebel, and a few hundred false prophets who promoted idol worship. After a spectacular encounter, the prophets met their death. Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah: “May the gods deal with me ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like of one of them.”

Elijah He ran for his life. After covering considerable distance, he collapsed under a tree. God took care of his physical needs but Elijah was still extremely anxious. He traveled even farther and spent a night in a cave. Then God asked him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

At that, God told him to stand on the mountain in His presence and He would pass by. When Elijah obeyed, a powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks, but the Bible says, “the LORD was not in the wind.”

After the wind there was an earthquake, but “the LORD was not in the earthquake.” After the earthquake came a fire, but “the LORD was not in the fire.”

Finally, after this display of power, God did speak—in a gentle whisper. Elijah heard it and covered his face. God quietly told him, “Go back and anoint a new king.” He also addressed his fears: “I reserved seven thousand in Israel--all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him.”

God reassured Elijah that he was not battling evil all by himself, but the story makes another point. In his state of anxiety, Elijah was so wrapped up in himself and his concerns that God had to use a spectacular demonstration of power to get his attention, some so-called “acts of God.” In them, Elijah discovered what many of God’s children also discover: God’s voice is not loud like thunder, earth-shaking like a quake, or flashy like lightning or fire. Instead, He speaks in a “a still small voice,” a whisper.

That “whisper” can be heard, if we, like Elijah, turn toward Him and willingly listen.