In the opening verses of John’s gospel we find a powerful message; verses 1-18 are referred to as the prologue of John’s gospel, and herein we find the beautiful power of the person of Christ - who is referred to as the Word. The gospel of John opens in a very similar fashion to the opening of the bible in Genesis: “in the beginning”; John, however, replaces the name God which is found in the Genesis account with the title Word. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Noting that the Word was with God was a big enough statement on its own (let alone that the Word was there in the beginning!), but John goes on to note that the Word was God.
It was God who became man in Jesus Christ. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” This word for dwelt is literally tabernacled; the tabernacle was the movable structure in which the presence of God took up residence. Jesus, fully God, is the body in which the fullness of God dwelt, and in and through Christ, God dwelt among humanity. This was always God’s hope and plan - to dwell among humanity. We see it in the opening chapters of Genesis where God is found among humanity in the Garden of Eden; we find it in the tabernacle and temple of the Old Covenant; we see it in the book of Revelation at the close of the Bible where the new heaven and earth are described as a place where the dwelling of God is with humanity.
We see it in Jesus, Immanuel - God with us. John’s prologue goes on to tell us that Jesus reveals the heart of the Father. This is the Father’s heart: to be with humanity, to be with you, to be with me. We see it as well in the gift of the Holy Spirit which takes up residence among us. God is a God who wants to be with us.
When you think about this truth - God wanting to be with you - how do you feel? Do you believe that God wants to be with you? Why or why not? How do you find your place in the presence of God? When does God feel closest to you? Take some time to think about the God who longs to be with you, how that makes you feel, and how you can respond to this truth.
