May 28, 2008
-
And the Word became flesh
We just came back from our very last foster parenting class tonight. I can hardly believe 8 weeks have passed. We are probably about 3-4 weeks away from having a placement! We just need to do a few more things including finding some alternate caregivers (looking for those who would be open to coming over here to babysit on occasion?), and we’ll be officially certified! Wowee.
Last night, I was translating John 1:1-18 (from Greek to English). I was just going along, verse by verse, through this beautiful passage when I suddenly hit verse 14. And for some reason, it hit me in a fresh new way that it has never hit me before. Και ο λογος σαρξ εγενετο. And the Word became flesh. –that God would choose to make Himself known in vivid living color by becoming flesh! He didn’t just choose to tell us about Himself through words, He didn’t choose to reveal Himself only by giving us a book about Himself or stop at sending messengers to mediate, no, instead, He Himself chose to take on flesh that we may see and smell and touch and really know intimately what He is like.
Perhaps I was so amazed because I just got through thinking for so long on the truth that “in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things came into existence through Him, and apart from Him, not one thing came into existence that has come into existence…” (my translation) It set up the stage so well. The Word is all these things – great and powerful indeed – and truly, He is God, and this one wanted to reveal Himself to us by becoming flesh. Amazing!
As I thought about this last night, I suddenly found myself walking on the streets of East Asia again in my mind. We went there in order to make the Word become flesh there – to bring the Word (God’s heart, God’s reality) into tangible, human form. That’s what missions is about.
And tonight as we got home after this last foster parenting class, the words came to me again, “ο λογος σαρξ εγενετο” — We are making the Word become flesh to the babies who are placed in our home (as well as to the biological parents). Such a powerful truth that God did that for us and powerful call for us to do the same as we follow in His footsteps…
Comments (2)
That’s cool, Mary Ann!
As the church, we are the body of Christ. I never thought of this before, and I might be stretching things… mixing my metaphors, but maybe we can say that the church is making the Word become flesh. Hmmm.
i like the connection you made with the Word and missions. yep, that’s what missions is about. that’s pretty encouraging. and neat to think about how in some places ya go, it may be the very first time a Christian has stepped foot there.