The Best Word
One of the most powerful verses in Scripture is found in John’s gospel:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
John 1:1 ESV
As you keep reading, it becomes abundantly clear that the author, inspired by the Holy Spirit, identifies Jesus Christ as the “Word.”
From the first sentence in the Bible, we learn that, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) Now, John explains, “In the beginning was the Word…” And not only was Jesus there in the beginning, but “the Word was with God…” And not only was the Word with God, but “the Word was God.”
So if Jesus has existed from the beginning, if He was with God, and if He was God, then that makes Him much more than a good person, a moral teacher, or even a prophet.
John claims that Jesus is fully man and fully God. This seems ridiculous—unless, of course, it’s true.
The truth is, God loved the world so much that He gave up His divine privileges, was born into human skin, and died a criminal’s death—so that the people He loves could have eternal life. He loves you.
Remember: He’s not just another name from history, He’s the very Creator of life.
A Unifying Mission
Almost every successful company or group in history has shared something in common: they all had a unifying mission.
Missions are critical in not only aligning objectives, but also unifying a large group of people toward one purpose.
As Christians, we all share the same mission. We are unified in following Christ. We're saved by His blood (Romans 5:9) and we're all called to make disciples in His name (Matthew 28:19).
And yet, even among Christians, there is so much division and disunity.
Part of the division comes from our lack of clarity and commitment to the mission that is defined in Scripture. And to make it worse, we are sinful people, and sin naturally causes division in our lives and relationships.
But, the Psalmist in Psalm 133:1 reflects on how good it is when the people of God live together in unity. There is something powerful that happens among Christians when we are unified.
Unity is not putting away our differences, because there would be no need to be ...