Copyright 2012: singeronthesand
From the first day, we were there, taking
it all in--we heard it with our own ears, saw it
with our own eyes, verified it with our own hands.
The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes;
we saw it happen! And now we're telling you in
most sober prose that what we witnessed was,
incredibly, this: The infinite Life of God
Himself took shape before us.
1 John 1:1-2
A young friend of mine was bubbling over with excitement yesterday. She had been at a local club when Chris Brown [R&B singer, songwriter, dancer, actor, celebrity] arrived at the establishment. She and a friend were invited into the VIP section with the Brown entourage, and she was able to see the singer up close. Although he did little except sit in a booth and chat with his people, she was still able to "see him with my own eyes" and that made for a very exciting evening.
John opens up his first letter to the church, not by introducing himself or giving words of personal greeting to friends and church members, but by launching into a passionate affirmation of the most important period of his life: when he was an eyewitness to the life, ministry, death and resurrection of the Son of God. He was there from the very beginning of Christ's ministry - knowing, seeing, hearing, touching the Messiah. In his Gospel, John introduced Jesus as the Word. In this first letter to the churches, he again proclaims Jesus as the Word of Life - the infinite Life of God. One can feel the excitement in his words as he describes for his readers the incredible experience of living with God on earth - Emmanuel.
It was difficult for me to get all worked up over my friend's experience seeing Chris Brown. After all, I was not there, I did not see. John knew that he was facing the same situation with his readers. He knew that most if not all of them were not witnesses to Christ's life. But he was! So he pours out his heart in the opening sentences of this letter - willing the people to "see" through his eyes, to "hear" through his words, to experience the living God for themselves.
John opens up his first letter to the church, not by introducing himself or giving words of personal greeting to friends and church members, but by launching into a passionate affirmation of the most important period of his life: when he was an eyewitness to the life, ministry, death and resurrection of the Son of God. He was there from the very beginning of Christ's ministry - knowing, seeing, hearing, touching the Messiah. In his Gospel, John introduced Jesus as the Word. In this first letter to the churches, he again proclaims Jesus as the Word of Life - the infinite Life of God. One can feel the excitement in his words as he describes for his readers the incredible experience of living with God on earth - Emmanuel.
It was difficult for me to get all worked up over my friend's experience seeing Chris Brown. After all, I was not there, I did not see. John knew that he was facing the same situation with his readers. He knew that most if not all of them were not witnesses to Christ's life. But he was! So he pours out his heart in the opening sentences of this letter - willing the people to "see" through his eyes, to "hear" through his words, to experience the living God for themselves.
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