Friday, August 21, 2009

The Word

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.....and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us...." John 1:1, 14

I know, I know--it's not Christmas. This verse is the stuff that some of the most beautiful Christmas cards are made of. I've just been thinking a lot about the Word lately--no, not the word--the Word.

I won't mention how many years it's been since I took New Testament Greek in college and to say I'm a bit "rusty" would be quite an understatement. In fact, I'm sure I've forgotten ninety percent of what I learned back then, I'm ashamed to admit. There are, however, a couple of Greek words that have always stuck with me. One of those is LOGOS or the Word. The English dictionary says of the term logos, "The creative word of God which is itself God and incarnate in Jesus. Also called Word."

If you're like me in your journey of faith, there are seasons that you "re-discover" the wonder of it all. I suppose I'm in one of those seasons. As my youngest will soon leave for college, I have been much more introspective lately. When I am introspective and looking at my life and life in general, my faith always plays a leading role. I find more and more that the Word, or Jesus Christ, is my anchor and my plumb line. As the scripture says, he is my "Rock". Without him, nothing else really makes much sense.

I am forever in awe of the language the Apostle John used when describing Jesus' entrance into our existence..."and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us..." In layman's terms I guess you could say that Jesus "put skin on and jumped down in this hole with us." Now don't go off on my use of the term "hole". I'm not referring to specifics in our lives but rather to the human condition in general. Let's face it, the scripture says that without Christ we were and are utterly lost and without hope. When the Word entered the picture--everything changed. If we surrender ourselves and our lives to Him we find the hope that our souls long for. With Christ we have a way out and a way up!

St. Augustine said, "Thou has made us for Thyself, Oh Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee."

Logos. The Word. Think about it.

1 comment:

Beverly said...

I too have been thinking alot about how important The Word of God is for our personal lives and yet is so easily neglected. It seems I sit down to read and the next thing I know something has either distracted me or I get the thought "I really need to take care of this or that". It is a fight to do what is the best thing to do, it has to be a priority in our lives if we are going to experience real freedom. Just like John 8:32 says "you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free". It is only the Word that makes one free. It's our spiritual food, just like we have to eat physically, we have to eat spiritually. Then we have to apply it in our daily lives, sometimes you have to hear it over and over again to make it stick! I just feel the urgency of getting back to reading and applying the Word in my own life.