John 1

I have decided to spend my time in the book of John as I get back into regular bible reading. I think if we are serious about following Christ, it is a necessity to constantly be in the gospels learning about Him, His character, and how He responded to people. It is very profitable to hear from Paul, Peter, David, and Moses, but if we really want to get an insight into the life of Christ, there is no better part of scripture than the written accounts of His life.

The last few days I took some time and read through John chapter 1. There were a few things I noticed that I have not before, and a few things I was reminded of.

I was reminded of the necessity of recognizing the eternal nature of Christ, as a member of the Trinity, separate from the Father and the Spirit, yet one with the Father and Spirit. When John declares that "in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God" and then proceeds to tell us that "he was in the beginning with God", John is making a radically monumental statement about the person of Christ. I was reminded that it is imperative that followers of Jesus recognize and know that He is God. That Christ was not created by the Father, nor is He secondary to the Father in power, but it is by and through Christ that the Father created the universe. This is a huge implication to our understanding of the power, authority, and nature of Jesus.

Two things struck me later in the chapter. When Jesus calls Andrew and Peter, Andrew does something that goes often overlooked. He brings his brother Simon Peter to Jesus. Now I love Andrew. I love him because I think I am a lot like him. Andrew was a disciple that was a leader, but in most situations took a secondary role to his brother Peter. But Andrew always seemed to know the best thing to do. He simply brought people to Jesus. I want that to be a defining characteristic in my life. I want to be known as a man who brings people to Jesus. Andrew didn't need any accolades. He was content with Peter being in the spotlight. He just wanted to be obedient to Jesus. I really admire that.

Application: Know who Christ is. Let it transform how you look at Him throughout your day. When you are unsure of what to do in a situation, bring people to Jesus.