“The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood” (John 1:14, MSG). Do you realize who this is talking about? Who is the Word? And what neighborhood has He moved into?
“Everything was created through Him; nothing—not one thing—came into being without Him” (John 1:3, MSG). “The Word was first, the Word present to God, God present to the Word” (John 1:1-2, MSG).
It sounds like some kind of riddle. Of course we know who the Word was, it tells us that “the Word was God” (John 1:1-2, MSG).
Who is the Word?
Why not just go ahead and say the Word is Jesus? What’s the reason for all of the riddles and mysteries? To the readers of the day in which John wrote the gospel, using “word” or “logos” to refer to Jesus would have brought forth the Greek meaning of a mediating principle between God and the world. Jewish readers would understand the “word” of God as an instrument for the execution of God’s will.
“By the word of the Lord the heavens were made made, their starry host by the breath of His mouth” Psalm 33:6, NIV). “He sent out His word and healed them; He rescued them from the grave” Ps. 107:20, NIV). Your word, Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens” (Ps. 119:89, NIV).
What John was doing by using the actual word “logos” or “word” to describe Jesus was to say this personal being was a mediator between God and man, fully God, fully human and fully on our side.
The Word with Skin
The news that the Word put skin on and moved into where individuals live was an earth-shattering, world-changing revelation. John was trying to explain the unique, extraordinary existence of a human being such as we have never before seen on earth.
His proclamation would fall on deaf ears of those who had no interest in understanding. Ah, but to those who wanted to listen, He Himself was, and is life.
“What came into existence was Life, and the Life was Light to live by. The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn’t put it out” (John 1:4, MSG).
Radical Message
Of course, the whole reason John was writing His epistle was to share with people how to move from death to life” (see John 3:16). It was a radical message for its time.
He quoted Jesus as telling the Jewish leaders “you have your heads in your Bibles constantly because you think you find eternal life there. But you miss the forest for the trees. These Scriptures are all all about Me! And here I am, standing right before you, and you aren’t willing to receive from Me the life you say you want” (John 5:39-40, MSG).
The Living Word
All along they were missing the most important thing: Jesus, the Word, was living among them. He had the power to teach them how to live in relationship with God. He was Truth (see John 14:6) standing right in front of them, but they were too blind to reach out and ask Him real questions that mattered. They were too busy trying to catch Him doing something wrong when all He was doing was offering life.
It’s why He moved into our meager existence. Only one like us could show us the way out. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. We only need follow Him in our everyday lives to find the way out.
Like the Jewish Leaders
It’s interesting to me that we have become so like the Jewish leaders of old. We ask Jesus questions like, Why couldn’t you stop that war? Why did my grandmother have to die? Couldn’t you fix it so there would be no natural disasters? We actually demand Him to do things like, Give me a job. Get me a bigger house. Make me lose weight.
And all the time Jesus is telling us things like, “My desire is to give you everything in abundance more than you expect‑life in its fullness until you overflow” (John 10:10, TPT). Yet, we still question the hardships we feel we have to endure in life.
Turn on the Light
You want more from Life? Turn on the Light. Follow His words. Do what He shows you to do from His Word. Follow the life He led. It would be nearly impossible to be as outspoken as Jesus was and not be killed. He knew what He was doing. He knew men hated His words of life, because darkness cannot stand the Light. The Light kills darkness.
Yes, but that’s the beautiful quality of the Light. No matter what Light always wins. Always.
I don’t know about you, but I’m eternally grateful that the Light moved into my neighborhood, rearranged things, cleaned up and shined truth into the dark, dusty corners where lies like to hide. I am grateful that each day He illuminates my life even more.
And all I have to do is flip the switch.
Teresa Shields Parker is an author, speaker and coach. Sweet Change Weight Loss Coaching and Accountability Group provides support, encouragement, weekly videos, action steps and an online group for those wanting to be intentional about their weight loss efforts. Click the title to take you to the information page for Sweet Change.
Her new book, Sweet Change: True Stories of Transformation, published Dec. 2014 is now the #1 Christian weight loss memoir on Amazon, shares the stories of 17 individuals on the weight loss journey and includes much information from Teresa. Download a free chapter HERE.
In her first book, Sweet Grace: How I Lost 250 Pounds, she shares transparently and openly about the challenges of losing an extreme amount of weight. Sweet Grace Study Guide gives practical tips on weight loss.
Janet Perez Eckles 
Shawn Akers 
Abby Trivett 
