Dec 20, 2013 Words of Grace – Meeting Jesus
Jesus came to be met.
So many people don’t realize this. To them, Jesus is a figure in history long dead and irrelevant, or the inspiration for discontent cultural revolutionaries, or the leader of morally uptight Americans. But a person to be met and known?
During Advent we have been looking at the coming of Jesus in John 1. Grand statements about Jesus are made in this chapter. The Word was in the beginning. The Word was with God from eternity. The Word was God. Jesus is this Word, which became a man and lived among us. Jesus is God and man in one person.
John 1 goes on to tell us that Jesus met people, and people actually met him. It tells us that we can meet him.
How can we meet a man who lived two thousand years ago? Jesus is alive and he relates to us by his Spirit. He has given us information about himself in the Bible. He still speaks to us through the Bible. We have minds that can think, desires that lead to decisions, and bodies that can be used for service. Put all of this together, and we see how we can meet Jesus.
Meeting Jesus starts when he, by his Spirit, speaks to us from his word. We understand the words about Jesus. We believe in him, we decide to follow him, and we make it our mission to serve him. Meeting Jesus happens because Jesus introduces himself to us, and we respond to him in faith.
We have had one goal at Grace this December: to meet Jesus. I hope you will join us for the final Sunday of Advent as we continue to meet him in John 1. I hope you will bring someone to church with you Sunday or on Christmas Eve who needs to meet Jesus.
Merry Christmas,
Scott