Although the gospel of John does not recount Jesus’s birth, John’s introduction of Jesus is intriguing nonetheless.
John calls Jesus the Word. We learn early in life how powerful words can be. I can think of many moments where the right affirmation at the right time was like a balm to my soul or a jolt of encouragement. I can also think of moments where hurtful words struck so close to an insecurity that they crippled me. Psalm 18:21 puts it this way: The tongue has the power of life and death.
As I think about words having the power of life, I am also reminded of a scene from The Chronicles of Narnia. In The Magician’s Nephew, C.S. Lewis describes the creation of Narnia. He paints a scene of Aslan the Great Lion singing a melody almost too glorious to be described. As Aslan sings, the world is created: “A voice had begun to sing. Sometimes it seemed to come from all directions at once. There were no words. It was hardly a tune. But it was beyond comparison, the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.”
That scene has stuck with me since I first read it as a child. Frivolous as it may seem, as I read “In the beginning was the Word, and…all things were made through him” (John 1:1,3) I have to wonder if the creation of our own universe was something like Aslan roaring Narnia into existence.
It’s nice to imagine Jesus bringing a piece of encouragement or a spectacle of creation, but what I think Jesus being the Word really means is that he is solid. He is unchanging. He came before me and He will be after me. His character is trustworthy. His love is immovable. Like a binding word, Jesus’s essence demonstrates the unconditional love of God for us.
So as we approach Christmas and the end of the year, may we remember – even in the moments when we feel unraveled or unsure – we can stand securely upon Jesus the Word, confident in who He is and in His love for us.