Beyond Words

We are deep into this Lenten period now and this is a time for prayerful preparation, for laying aside some of our own concerns to draw closer to God and to each other. May God bless you in those endeavors as we recall the grace given us through Christ's journey to the cross.

I think we have all experienced that paralyzing moment where we’re standing before an expectant crowd, under bright lights and with the weight of their gaze only to find the words don’t come out (or maybe that’s just a common nightmare for so many of us). And in this scenario, whether you’ve offered only silence or maybe your words failed to land, public speaking remains one of our greatest fears because we know we’re not always adept at bridging the gap between what we think and what we’re able to communicate.

And this struggle isn’t always about our nerves because often things just get lost in translation. Sometimes the most profound ideas feel impossible to articulate because the person we are speaking to has no concept of what we know. Maybe it’s like trying to explain the colour blue to a person who never had sight. Even though Einstein once said that ‘if you can’t explain it to a six-year-old, then you don't truly understand it yourself,’ maybe there are some things that we might never grasp without some staggering intervention. I hope that’s the case because I know that there’s an infinite number of things I know I’ll never grasp especially when it comes to the infinite mysteries of God.

So although we might flounder in understanding even our own experiences, where we try to find a way to satisfy the yearning in our hearts for the eternal, scripture informs us that God didn't wait for us to understand Him (as if we could), rather God came down to us that we might truly experience Him. God stepped into our reality in the person of Jesus Christ whom John tells us is the Word of God or the ‘Logos’ as it’s known in the original Greek, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,” (John 1:14). God reveals enough to us to know Him and understand Him, that no one is left with an excuse.

I know we looked at this passage many times in the past, but can I invite you to sit with John 1:1-14, don’t just read the words, but meditate on them with the understanding that God initiates, that God reaches down, and that this God calls us into eternal relationship with Him.

Many blessings.

Josh