Seen His Glory

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

SEEN HIS GLORY

John 1:14

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

NIV

This word, the very Word who spoke everything into existence, the word which is and always has been eternal, without a beginning and who has no end, inserted himself into time in the form of his very own creation, man. Yet the most interesting of this event is that he did not simply just show up as a man, by some miracle, suddenly being here. He came supernaturally in the natural way man comes into the world, through a woman. The very seed of a woman was fertilized without human intervention, or in a human way that would have been accomplished. As John has already stated Jesus came into the world, not by the will of man, but by his own will. Yet he arrives in the humblest of ways, to a poorer working-class family, in a situation away from their own home, but in the very town, the prophets foretold he would arrive. To think that the eternal God, creator of heaven and earth, came to earth in this manner, so he would have to be completely dependent as an infant and grow into a child living under the authority of his parents and having to learn the trade of his family, going through all the Jewish customs, experiencing bar-mitzvah and all the celebrations and festivals, and being compliant to the Mosaic Law. This is what John meant when he said the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. But now John moves right past all that time, those early years and all what Jesus experienced and brings us right to the beginning of his public ministry. But before his being baptized, John tells us that he was one of those who have seen his glory, the glory of Jesus, who is full is grace and truth. Although it is true that Jesus no longer dwells in the form of humankind upon this earth, as he ascended back into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father, it is still possible for us to see his glory and to experience the fullness of his grace and truth. Seeing his glory can come in several forms. We can see his glory as we read his word, experiencing in our hearts the truth in our lives, and having through Jesus, received eternal life. We can also see his glory as we walk through his creation, the natural world, with all the life which is around us and the stars and planets in the sky. We can watch the clouds roll by, feel the warmth of the sun, smell the sweet fragrance of the rain, or enjoy the beauty of a fluffy snowfall. We can hear the songs of the birds and in harmony, or the wind as it whistles through the trees, or the sound of great claps of thunder following those brilliant displays of lighting. The earth is teeming with the glory of the Lord. But we can also see his glory on certain occasions when he manifests himself in some way personally before us in a vision, or with a still small voice as he whispers direction into our hearts. All this is wrapped up in those words of John, as Jesus is full of grace and truth and we have seen his glory.