The First Step Toward Discovering the Glory of The Word
For the last two weeks I’ve challenged you to make 2023 the Year of The Word. The challenge originated from John 1:1 where it says, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” My thought is, instead of aiming to improve ourselves, we set our focus on intentionally knowing and following Christ.
Greek Word Logos
The Greek word translated Word is logos. The first definition is “a word, uttered by a living voice, embodies a conception or idea.” (NAS New Testament Greek Lexicon) Logos is an expression of a thought. Consider the truth that Jesus is God incarnate. Combine that with the definition of logos and one understands this idea that everything God is, anything God has ever said, is all expressed in the Son of Man.
“The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very nature of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command…”
Hebrews 1:3a NLT (italics mine for emphasis)
Discovering The Word
During the season of Advent, we celebrated the truth of God with us. I fear we often move into a new year and leave the celebration behind. However, God remains with us. And just as we anticipated His arrival in December, Jesus longs for us to anticipate discovering who He fully is, completely God, in all His glory, throughout the following year.
Christ wants to be the thought, the concept and idea that is constantly running though our brains. He doesn’t want us to know about the Son of God, able to list character traits and things He has done. Jesus wants us to commune with Him; He desires constant, intimate communication. He eagerly anticipates deep and profound exchanges of hopes, dreams, feelings, and ideas.
The Over-Simplification of God
During my quiet time several weeks ago, I was struck with this idea: we tend to think of Jesus as a dumbed down version of God. We would never use those words, but I couldn’t escape the concept. We find Jesus easier to understand than God. We treat Jesus like He’s our buddy, but we hold God at a distance.
We back up our unstated theology with phrases like Jesus helps me, Jesus gets me, Jesus loves me. Undoubtedly these phrases are true. However, we claim only these ideas while ignoring characteristics such as holiness, righteousness, absolute truth, and unimaginable glory.
Jesus is God in All His Glory
Jesus did come to enable us to grasp the love and grace of God. As we already read in Hebrews 1:3, Jesus is the hands on visual of an invisible God. Just as Jesus was man, He is also completely God. He is the embodiment of holiness, righteousness, and truth. Consider this question: do you think of glory when you think of Jesus?
“So the Word became human and made His home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen His glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.”
John 1:14 NLT
Do you want to see God’s glory? Do you desire to live the entire year in the joy of Advent, knowing God is with you? Do you aspire to truly commune with Christ? Do you intend to make 2023 the Year of The Word? Then it must be a priority.
All Sorts of Priorities
Priority is a tough word. We are good at claiming priorities we don’t live out. Think of all the resolutions that are ignored by this date in any new year. There are also several things we prioritize and don’t necessarily realize it.
- We prioritize work when we get dressed every morning and strive to arrive on time. We often take classes or seminars to learn how to do our jobs better.
- We prioritize relaxation and fun. For example, we schedule days out with our friends; we choose random mornings to sleep in; we set aside time to binge our favorite TV show; and we calendar official social excursions. In addition, we spend our surplus money on vacations, sports equipment, and cultural events.
- We prioritize our health. This is revealed by our exercise habits, the water bottle we carry around, and the regular fueling of our bodies. Some of us diet, pay for a gym membership or hire a trainer.
- We prioritize our appearance. For instance, we pay for haircuts, professional manicures, new clothes, and makeup. We shower regularly, wash and style our hair, and often change our clothes too many times making sure we look presentable.
A Hard Question
Allow me to ask a difficult question. If someone gave you the amount of time, attention, and thought you give God, would you feel significant? Would there be indicators to affirm you were the top priority?
Perhaps my question would resonate more if I phrased it this way: If your spouse, or significant other, gave you the exact amount of attention you give Jesus, would you feel deeply loved?
Know The Word
When we claim 2023 as the Year of The Word, we must make Jesus our priority. That choice demands we give up some other, perhaps unidentified, priority. We must make choices that place our relationship with Jesus first on the list, always.
When any of us fall in love, we choose time with the one we love over time with anyone else. We don’t mean to ignore our friends, but One person has our full attention. We can’t imagine not talking to the One, not being with the One, not considering what the One would want to do. God Almighty wants to be THE One. It’s why He sent Jesus to be The Word.
The Priority of Knowing God
Oh, the wonder that awaits each of us when we open the door to experience the glory of God. Our Savior will reveal His magnificent majesty when we prioritize knowing Him intimately. The miracle that is Jesus can become our everyday life.
I know I’ve been posing many questions, but I have two more.
- What do you need to begin so that knowing Christ is your priority?
- What do you need to stop so that knowing Christ remains your priority?
(If you need help with these questions, I suggest you go back to last week’s blog: How to Plan for the Year of The Word.)
God is with us. And He is waiting to commune with you, every day, all day. Jesus Christ teaches us every facet of who God is. He is the Word of God made flesh. He is full of grace and truth, love and faithfulness, and glory.
Imagine the passion our voices could hold next December when we sing Glory to God in the Highest if we prioritize intimately knowing The Word now. Hallelujah, the King has come!
