I am intrigued with words. I find language itself fascinating. However, I am not a word connoisseur and can rarely speak a full sentence without searching for the right word. I admire people who can speak eloquently, never tripping over their words. Regardless of the eloquence (or not), the spoken word is as natural as breathing.
The origin of the spoken word predates man. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made.” (John 1:1-3 NIV) My mind can barely conceive how God ‘spoke’ creation into being. God made us in His image (Genesis 1:27) and He gave us language. Through our language, we have fellowship with Him and with each other.
Before the Word of Life (Jesus) came to walk among us, the Word of the Lord spoke through the prophets. Over and over again we see, “Then the word of the Lord came to me:” throughout the Old Testament. People depended on the prophets to hear from God. In 1 John 1 we see, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched – this we proclaim concerning the Word of Life.” Jesus was the Word in the beginning, born a miraculous birth to become the Son of Man while still being the Word from the beginning. He showed us how to have a relationship with the Father. In the beginning, Jesus, the Word, spoke creation into existence. While He was on Earth, He spoke things out of existence, such as sickness, demonic activity, and even death when He raised Lazarus from the grave. With His spoken word, Jesus calmed the storms.
The Word of Life left the glory of heaven to rescue all people from the death of sin. He came to pay the price of sin for us that we would never be able to pay on our own. Jesus, the Word from the beginning, became our Living Sacrifice. He was crucified and experienced a horrid death on the cross. Why would anyone willingly lay down their life for people who are innately sinners? Only the Word of Life could do something so spectacular as to trade places with us and die our intended death. He satisfied the penalty of sin with His very own blood. The Word of Life defeated death because His love for us was so great that He could not stand the thought of being separated from us for eternity (Romans 5:8).
Jesus tells the disciples in John 16 what is about to happen, and they are filled with grief. He wanted them to be prepared to receive the Spirit of Truth, the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, who could only come to them once Jesus went back to the Father.
There was a time that I was saddened that I wasn’t born in the era when Jesus walked the earth. However, how likely would it have been for me to see Him during those days? Probably not likely at all. How remarkable is it that we get to live on this side of history! We have the ability to be in the presence of Jesus through His Spirit that lives in each believer. We can have conversations with Jesus and be in relationship with Him.
There is nothing we could ever do to deserve this magnificent love of God. We cannot pay the price—only Jesus could do that. We cannot work for it, because then it wouldn’t be a gift of grace (Romans 11:6). Only because of His extravagant mercy are we made new. He traded our sin-laden lives for a perfect inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or be diminished. It’s promised and preserved forever (1 Peter 1:4).
The Word of Life lives in those who believe His Word is true and love Him. This miraculous gift didn’t end with the resurrection. The resurrected Christ was only the beginning. The Kingdom of God is not just for the life to come; it’s for the here and now too (Luke 17:20-21). How often do we dismiss our trials as part of living in a broken world and sigh, thinking how grand heaven someday will be? Because Jesus ushered in His Kingdom on Earth, we don’t have to wait until we get to heaven to have a relationship with Him. We can enjoy peace, love, and joy in His presence now!
You may be wondering how to build a deeper relationship with Jesus. Maybe you have taken the first step of deciding to believe in faith that Jesus is who He says He is. Or perhaps your knowledge is limited to knowing about baby Jesus at Christmas and resurrected Jesus at Easter. The great news is the Word of Life, the Creator of all things, wants you to know and love Him as much as He knows and loves you. No matter where you are in your faith journey, whether you are on square one or have spent a lifetime getting to know Jesus, there is always more. The best next step is to tell Jesus you want to know Him more, and He will lovingly respond. Many years ago, I sat down at my desk, dusted off my Bible, and said to Jesus, “I want You to be the Lord of my life. I want to love You with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5). And then I admitted to Him that I didn’t know how and needed His help. Little by little, step by step, He drew me closer to Him, and He will do the same for you.
The Word of Life is within you, and He loves you more than life itself. He proved that on the cross. Instead of getting caught up in life, the world wants you to scroll through, reach for your Bible, the Living Word. It’s alive and active, full of life, and His Word will lead you on a direct path right into the Word of Life.
Stacey Daley
