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The Challenge of the Word

by Jerry Ousley  
9/07/2018 / Christian Living

JOHN 1:1-14

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God.”

(John 1:1)

 

He stepped from the car and for the first time in five weeks saw his two-year-old son. His heart had ached for just a glimpse of his son and his wife. He had fantasized about this moment imagining how his son would jump into his arms, smothering him with huge, wet, juicy kisses. It would be a great moment and one he knew he would never forget.

 

Instead, when the young boy saw his dad he just stood there looking as if to ask, “Who is this strange man?” It was far from what this eager father had hoped for and he couldn’t help but feel disappointed in his son’s reaction.

 

On the other hand, the circumstances were understandable. When he and his wife were first married his kinky locks were long and tightly curled. This was in the late 70’s when long hair on men was “the in thing,” he fit the era like a tourist in Disney Land. By the time their son was born, his kinky hair had evolved into an Afro accompanied by a mustache and full beard. That’s how the boy remembered his father when he left for basic training.

 

Seeing Dad for the first time in five weeks with no hair on his face and the pile of curls on top of his head being replaced with near baldness was probably a little like seeing a shaved cat after a bath. So his reaction should have been of no surprise. It was still a dream buster.

 

But then the man spoke, “Son, it’s me, Dad.”

 

The young boy looked puzzled. This strange man’s voice sounded very familiar.

 

“Don’t you remember me?”

 

It didn’t look like him, but it sure sounded like him.

 

“Awe, come on, ‘Sonshine!’”

 

That did it! Only Dad had ever called him that. With his arms outstretched he melted into the arms of his father. He may not have recognized him, but his voice was all the identity the boy needed and the father’s imagined reunion became reality.

 

Jesus must have felt alone and out of place in this world. Yes, He had been birthed and had grown up just like any other Jewish boy, but back in the recesses of His mind were the memories of where He had originated. The first few verses tell us that nothing was created without Him, that He was there with God Almighty and was, in fact,

God Almighty in flesh and blood.

 

And now, He was here - but no one really knew who He was. The Old Testament was full of prophecies that referred to His arrival on this Earth but it seemed that everyone had formed their own opinion of just how He would come, what He would look like, and how He would be received. While the Jewish world strained their necks looking for a grand, rich, and powerful king to emerge as their long awaited Messiah, He was walking the streets, already with them. But because of their preconceived imaginations of who He would be, they could not see Him.

 

As we move through this challenging Gospel we will continue to see that, even when He told them who He was, they wouldn’t believe Him. It was as if blinders had been placed over their eyes. He would work a miraculous healing and instead of witnessing the power behind the great wonder the Jewish leaders would accuse Him of

breaking the Sabbath or worse, working by the power of His own arch enemy, the devil.

 

By the end of His short ministry of only three years, a handful of followers really believed Him to be the Messiah, and some of those secretly because of their fear of public exposure and renunciation by the Jewish leaders. Most aspiring men and women of today would feel wasted, used up and like total and complete failures if faced with

the same rejection.

 

Speaking of today, does the Church established in the name of this man, Jesus really know who He is? Are we any different than the Pharisees and Sadducees of yesterday? Certainly we confess allegiance to Him and we sing praises to Him on Sunday morning, but do we really know Him?

 

(continued next week)

Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ?Soul Challenge?, ?Soul Journey?, ?Ordeal?, ?The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ?The Shoe Tree.? Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge.

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