The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 NKJ
14 The Word became ·a human [flesh] and ·lived [made his home; pitched his tabernacle; God’s glorious presence dwelt in Israel’s tabernacle in the wilderness] among us. We saw his ·glory [majesty]—the glory that belongs to the ·only Son [one and only; only begotten] ·of [who came from] the Father—and he was full of ·grace and truth [God’s gracious love and faithfulness. John 1:14 Expanded Bible
The Word became flesh! Jesus entered into my experience as a human being, with all its ups and downs, all its inconsistencies and confusion, all its struggles and suffering! He entered into my hell, came and joined me in my suffering – the suffering caused by others’ sin against me and the suffering from my own sin that I perpetrated. He understood me, He loved me, He took my side and was in solidarity with me there in the midst of my hurt and pain…He took my side as a victim of sin and lies and the enemy’s ploys, and He even took my side as a perpetrator of wrong actions toward others. He cared about me and understood me, had nothing but non-judgmental love for me there in my pain, frailty, weakness and humanity! I am not alone, He is beside me! I am not forgotten, He remembers me! I am not rejected, He accepts me! I am not judged, I am understood!
He judged and condemned sin in the flesh – He judged sin, not me! He came saying that there was something foreign that had caused havoc in my life, but that thing was not me and not part of my design or true make-up. Oh, what a relief to know that sin isn’t the deepest truth about me! He showed me what human life really is like, showed me what God really did when He made a human, showed me – in Himself – a mirror of my own self! And so in Him I find out that I am not a sinner with a sinful nature, that is not my identity, but that I am God’s child, special, valuable, truly priceless, and I am made in His image and therefore good and loving at the core. I may be sitting in a hell-hole, even one of my own creation, but He is there with me reminding me that I am truly royalty, truly beautiful, truly good deep down inside, truly God’s dear child. I may feel unlovable and unloved, rejected and alone, but He is there with me reminding me I am unconditionally loved, radically accepted, and will never be alone! He is there pointing to the fact that I belong. I belong to God. I am part of His family. I come from Him. I am made of Him. I am therefore good and beautiful and connected with Him always. I find my true self looking in Jesus’ eyes and seeing myself there. He displays for me who I truly am, what humanity really is – the expression of God Himself!
Then there is the cross and resurrection! There He delivers the death blow to sin, eradicating it and taking it away from me. He takes away that which was always foreign to me so that the real, true, authentic me can be revealed and expressed fully in my life! He frees me from the foreign oppressor of lies and legalistic/performance oriented ideas. He frees me to be my true self, my real self. And the resurrection vindicates that true self, that innocent self! He rises from the dead, proving my innocence! It is amazing! I always thought I was a shameful, dirty, rotten-at-the-core, worthless person. Yet through the cross He shows me I am loved just as I am in the mess of my life, I am worth dying for, and He shows me that sin isn’t the deepest part about me, but is actually not me at all. And the resurrection goes and proves that even more, for it vindicates me as innocent! I am revealed to be an innocent little child, pure and sweet, loving and good just like my Papa! Thank You, Jesus, for becoming flesh and taking on my condition, getting rid of the sin/lie was binding me and hurting me. And thank you for showing me, through Your incarnation, who I truly am – not a bad, rejected, rotten person but a good, innocent, loving child, God’s child, God’s beloved child!
14 The Word became ·a human [flesh] and ·lived [made his home; pitched his tabernacle; God’s glorious presence dwelt in Israel’s tabernacle in the wilderness] among us. We saw his ·glory [majesty]—the glory that belongs to the ·only Son [one and only; only begotten] ·of [who came from] the Father—and he was full of ·grace and truth [God’s gracious love and faithfulness. John 1:14 Expanded Bible
The Word became flesh! Jesus entered into my experience as a human being, with all its ups and downs, all its inconsistencies and confusion, all its struggles and suffering! He entered into my hell, came and joined me in my suffering – the suffering caused by others’ sin against me and the suffering from my own sin that I perpetrated. He understood me, He loved me, He took my side and was in solidarity with me there in the midst of my hurt and pain…He took my side as a victim of sin and lies and the enemy’s ploys, and He even took my side as a perpetrator of wrong actions toward others. He cared about me and understood me, had nothing but non-judgmental love for me there in my pain, frailty, weakness and humanity! I am not alone, He is beside me! I am not forgotten, He remembers me! I am not rejected, He accepts me! I am not judged, I am understood!
He judged and condemned sin in the flesh – He judged sin, not me! He came saying that there was something foreign that had caused havoc in my life, but that thing was not me and not part of my design or true make-up. Oh, what a relief to know that sin isn’t the deepest truth about me! He showed me what human life really is like, showed me what God really did when He made a human, showed me – in Himself – a mirror of my own self! And so in Him I find out that I am not a sinner with a sinful nature, that is not my identity, but that I am God’s child, special, valuable, truly priceless, and I am made in His image and therefore good and loving at the core. I may be sitting in a hell-hole, even one of my own creation, but He is there with me reminding me that I am truly royalty, truly beautiful, truly good deep down inside, truly God’s dear child. I may feel unlovable and unloved, rejected and alone, but He is there with me reminding me I am unconditionally loved, radically accepted, and will never be alone! He is there pointing to the fact that I belong. I belong to God. I am part of His family. I come from Him. I am made of Him. I am therefore good and beautiful and connected with Him always. I find my true self looking in Jesus’ eyes and seeing myself there. He displays for me who I truly am, what humanity really is – the expression of God Himself!
Then there is the cross and resurrection! There He delivers the death blow to sin, eradicating it and taking it away from me. He takes away that which was always foreign to me so that the real, true, authentic me can be revealed and expressed fully in my life! He frees me from the foreign oppressor of lies and legalistic/performance oriented ideas. He frees me to be my true self, my real self. And the resurrection vindicates that true self, that innocent self! He rises from the dead, proving my innocence! It is amazing! I always thought I was a shameful, dirty, rotten-at-the-core, worthless person. Yet through the cross He shows me I am loved just as I am in the mess of my life, I am worth dying for, and He shows me that sin isn’t the deepest part about me, but is actually not me at all. And the resurrection goes and proves that even more, for it vindicates me as innocent! I am revealed to be an innocent little child, pure and sweet, loving and good just like my Papa! Thank You, Jesus, for becoming flesh and taking on my condition, getting rid of the sin/lie was binding me and hurting me. And thank you for showing me, through Your incarnation, who I truly am – not a bad, rejected, rotten person but a good, innocent, loving child, God’s child, God’s beloved child!