John 1:! In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
1 John 1:1 reiterates this truth: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Wodr of life; (for the life was manifested and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life [age of life], which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)…”
Jesus is the Word. Jesus is with God and was God. It’s hard to understand but it is true. As much as God IS, Jesus IS. They are ONE. Add the Holy Spirit into that mix. It doesn’t become easier to understand but who says that God is supposed to be easy to understand. After all, God tells us in Isaiah 55:9, “For the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” In truth, we just think differently than You, God. You think in a heavenly way, exalted, and we think in a lowly, earthly way. Again, in Isaiah 55:8, You tell us, “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ says the LORD.”
But, in the beginning, when You created all life, when You gave life to humans and animals and plants and amoebas, You were already amazing You! None of us deserved it. What did we ever do to deserve experiencing life with You and in You? We didn’t do anything except be created by You. And You bestowed Your ever existent life, life over-flowing, upon us. With this life comes the experience of You, of joy, of peace, of happiness, of unity, of creativity, of procreation, of love and so much more. Animals and plants and amoebas experience this life on one level, but we as humans experience this life not only as “life” but as the light of life. What does that mean? That means that humans, like me, can experience the fullness of You through this life. This life is how we relate to You, how we know the Author and Sustainer of life, how we see You and commune with You and experience You and understand You in everything, in every bit of life around us.
The age of life, what we usually call “eternal life” is not about life in the hereafter and it’s not about living forever. That’s the wrong focus. The age of life is about LIFE HIMSELF! The age of life, eternal life, is about knowing and abiding in the ONE WHO IS LIFE. LIfe exists yesterday, today and tomorrow in God, in the Word, in Jesus, in Your Holy Spirit. It’s not a tomorrow, some day thing. For Your reasons, which are beyond my knowing, You made all things, every thing that exists, and gave life, shared Your life, shared Your existence, invited us into that existence in You and with You, into the presence and communion of the EVER EXISTENT ONE. You are life and You light the way for us, not to heaven, but to You. You open our eyes and hearts and minds and lives to see and know and experience what “good” is, since only You are good. You empower us to live out that good in You in our lives from the moment we surrender our lives to You. You invite us to live, here and now, in and with and for You.
The world was not created as a dark place. Originally, when You created it, all of creation shown with Your light and was filled and directed by Your life. But ,when Satan chose the sin of self-glory, and man and woman followed suit, what a sad age insued. We chose to live life in the dark instead of the light. We walk forward on our own. We make decisions on our own. We serve our own selves and our own desires.We have become the center of our lives and truth is, life will evade us because no matter how hard we try, we cannot create honest to goodness real life for ourselves. It’s impossible because we are only created creatures, not the Creator. Life is only found in the Creator, the One who is life and gives life freely.
It’s not that life isn’t available for all. It is. It’s just that some people look at it and won’t take it, won’t grasp it, won’t take hold of it. I mean, it shines in the middle of the darkness. There’s no way to totally miss it. Even a match in the darkness is highly visible. Light that match, and woosh, look at how much of the darkness has to run and hide! Look at how much a little match can overwhelm so much darkness!
What is darkness? I suppose darkness is anything that stands against us abiding in God, in Jesus, in the Holy Spirit. First, darkness robs us of truth. Darkness lies. It tells us that I have to hold onto my life or I will lose it. Life isn’t like that. Life is bigger than just now. Life isn’t a thing, like living many days. LIfe is of God. You can’t defeat God so how can anyone defeat life in God? Life is relationship with God through the Son and through His Holy Spirit. Life is real and tangible. Life is complete and full. Life is of God and is not tied to my physical life, well, it’s not under the control of my physical life. What I mean, and I think the Holy Spirit is guiding this, is that life in God controls my physical life and not the other way around. My physical life does not control the life of God in me. If it does, I have things wrong in my life!
Paul said once, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). How could he say that and why? What does he mean? What was his hope? What were his expectations concerning God and living, concerning Jesus and living, concerning the Holy Spirit and living and well, dying as well? In the prior verse, Paul shares how his hope and expectation is that in his life, all of it, through the good things and the bad things, ALWAYS, he would live so that Christ would be magnified in his body, in every part of his being, whether it meant in his living out life, or in his dying or being killed.
Paul got this part. Yeah, we all live in the world. We can’t avoid that. But we can live in the world while living in Christ and for Christ. We should be living in the fruit of Your Spirit and not by the fruits of the world around us. We should stand out like beautiful, strong lights in the world, offering a different choice, a better choice of life for others to see. I should be Christ focussed, God focussed, Holy Spirit focussed, not eternity focussed or heaven focussed.
What? Is that blasphemy? No! We can become so heavenly focussed that we are no earthly help. We can focus on escaping everything here and being raptured into heaven that we lose focus on the living that God has invited us into. Jesus was God-focussed, not heaven- focussed and because of that, he ministered to people daily, saw their needs, met them both spiritually and physically and emotionally. He saw the ones others missed because others were too focussed on their future rather than on their present calling in God.
Jesus didn’t come so I would focus on heaven. Jesus came so I would be able to focus on God again, rightly, and be able to find my life in Him again and live that life in Him now, moment by moment, day by day. Sure, we all would love to be fully in Jesus’ presence, but before we get there, we should be relying on His power and presence and Spirit to live Him out here on earth. Paul says it’s far better to abide in Jesus and live in Him now then to focus on leaving the world behind to be with Him. And I get that. Because if I focus on leaving the world to be with You, I will do just that, I will leave the world alone and not be good to anyone. It’s better to live while You give me life, and to delight in living in You while I have the chance, and to let that bear the fruit of drawing others to You, then to just give up the life You’ve called me to and equipped me for, so “someday” I can be with You. Have I forgetten that that someday has alread begun? I’ve already started being with You and You with me. Aren’t I experiencing that? Am I not willing to wait for You to bring it all together in Your time?
Abiding in Your life in my flesh must come first. That’s where I find confidence. That’s where I find fruitfulness. That’s where I find communion with You and others. That’s where I find joy and faith. That’s where I find that I am not alone. That’s where I find abundance of joy because I experience You bringing things to pass and to fruition in my life and the life around me. I see Your life overflowing to me and to others. This is where I come to know and experience Your Spirit, to have one mind with You, to be able to strive together with others in and for Your glory. And this is where I find no fear, but strength. Because salvation is not about safety but about life in the Ever Existent One. Conflict will not get the best of me because You are the best of me and You have me, totally.
A Deeper Treasure 