The Beginning and the End . . .

One way the Scriptures point to the eternal Lord God is by calling Him the Alpha and Omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. God is the beginning and the end. Perhaps it was this that prompted John to write his Gospel in the structure he used. He begins with a summary of God’s salvation message — the first thing I needed to hear, and finishes with the logical results of believing in Jesus.

The prologue introduces the Word, Jesus, who is the main character in this book. He is God, the Creator and Giver of Life, who was manifest in flesh to reveal the Father to us. These first 18 verses also introduce the major terms John uses: life, light, darkness, witness, believe and truth.

The plot is here too — conflict, shown in contrasts such as light vs. darkness; received him not vs. received him; physical birth vs. spiritual birth; law vs. grace and truth. This continues throughout John’s book culminating in the cross and the resurrection. These are some of the most prominent thoughts:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1–5)

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:9–13)

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known. (John 1:16–18)

In the end of the book, the risen Christ meets with His disciples and shows them His power to aid their efforts. He fed them and told them to serve Him by taking care of His people motivated by love. He also said they should not be tangled up by any sort of concern that is competitive in nature, just follow Him with faith in His will. John tells them and all His readers that Jesus is completely capable. He does far more than we will ever know.

These verses outline a portion of that epilog and leave me joyful that I know this man who is God:

Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. (John 21:4–6)

Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. (John 21:13)

He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. (John 21:17)

When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” (John 21:21–22)

Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. (John 21:25)

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Jesus, You just gave me wonderful thoughts to begin a full day. I should not need reminding that You are God in the flesh, full of grace and truth and came to save me from my sin — but You know that I do. Busy days can be distracting. I also need reminding that all good that happens is from Your hand and I can trust You with whatever comes my way today. I want my life to glorify You!

The best way to help others

In one of C. S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia books, two children are riding horses when Aslan, the lion who represents Christ, leaps on one horse and rips at the back of one of the children. When the other child asks Aslan why he did that, the lion says, “That is her story.”

This directly points to what happened in a conversation with Peter after Jesus rose from the dead. He indicated to Peter that he would be martyred in serving Him. Peter wanted to know about John.

When Peter saw him (John), he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” (John 21:21–22)

Over the years of being a Christian, I have learned to pray more instead of jumping into things that need to be “fixed.” Backing off is a tough lesson, particularly when it involves those close to me. This must be even more difficult for those gifted with compassion (not my strong suit). When others are suffering, we want to bail them out, or at least help them through it. I’m a parent of three adult children and as any parent knows, we must learn to let God do His work without interfering.

I have to trust God with His plans for the lives of others. Sometimes those plans include suffering, just as His plans for my life have included trials and difficulties. If I interfere with God’s plan by jumping in to help without seeking His mind on the matter, I’m apt to hear, “What is that to you? You follow me.”

Some instances, such as spiritual stagnation or being overtaken by a sin often require the people of God to go to the aid of a brother or sister in Christ. Sometimes others are in trouble with money, or illness, or dire need of some kind, but God teaches me to get into His presence and find out the reason for it. If it is none of my business, then I need to at least find out what He wants from me.

The surprise is that very rarely does God ask His people to propose or advise someone else in a direct way. Instead, the Holy Spirit tends to use His people almost unconsciously. That is, when I am rightly related to God and filled with His Spirit, I will be doing and saying things that He can use. Most of the time, I’ve no idea that He is using me. Instead, I’m merely doing whatever the Spirit puts in my heart, living in a joyful freedom of obedience.

Oswald Chambers likens this to the life of a child. A child is seldom self-conscious and making grand plans. Instead, children are abandoned to whatever play absorbs them. I am to be so abandoned to God that the awareness of being used by Him simply is not there. Instead, I am aware of my need of Him and my dependence upon Him. I know that in myself, I can do nothing, yet I know He is with me and I am free to live in His presence.

I’m also conscious of others. However, that awareness is never independent of a right relationship with God. He governs my burdens for them, any understanding of them, and gives a sense of what I must do (or not do) in regard to my relationship with them. Yet all of this is never contrived or planned. Walking with Jesus is about “being” more than doing, about focus rather than strategy, and about faith, not sight. When I am right with God, He can do whatever He wants with me and I will not notice — because my eyes are not on me, and not even on others so much as they are on Jesus.

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Father, You ask me to walk by faith, not by sight. The needs of others can sometimes overwhelm me. I hate to see others struggle and suffer, but at the same time, what do I know about Your plan in their lives? Their struggle might be the very thing You use to bring them into a right relationship with You. How dare I interfere with that!

At the same time, I know that sometimes You may want me to act. My own wisdom and understanding cannot tell when this is Your will either. Whatever is the best course of action always requires being close to You and listening to You. May this be true of my life, for this day, for the days ahead, and for all the needy people that come across my path.