January 9: Accepting His Love.
HIS CREATION.
As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God.--John 1:12
My maternal Grandparents lived in a large farmhouse where I loved to visit them. It was in a different country, so I went there for summer vacations. Soon I found out that there were other young people living there and, as I grew up, I realized that these young people were foster kids, some with learning disabilities, others with difficult upbringings who needed a nurturing place to live. They found a safe home with my grandparents, and some of them became like their own children, until adulthood. We all need a safe place, a home where we belong.
John announces that the Word of God was the active Agent through which everything was created (John 1:3). He Himself was Life (verse 4), He didn't just give life but He was life. And following the order of Creation, John talks about light; he says that the Word was life, and that life became "the Light of men" (verse 4). And when the Light appeared, the darkness did not understand it (verse 5). God was about to redeem His creation, and the story of redemption starts at the beginning. John goes on to say that Jesus "was the true Light which...enlightens every man" (John 1:9). Every person, at some level, has the chance to accept or reject the Light. Then we learn that when the Light came to His own home, those at home did not receive Him! How sad! Home is supposed to be your own place, where everybody knows your name. The Word, the Life-Giver, and Light Bearer "was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him" (verses 10, 11). This is the bad news, but there is also good news. Some did accept the Light. And to those who received Him by believing in Him, He gave a gift: a new status--children of God. Those who believe in Him are given that right (verses 12, 13). Have you ever been rejected by your own family, by your own home? God invites you to join the heavenly family. No one can take you away from Him. You become a child, born of the will of God. You have a home. And your Father knows your name.
My Response:______________________________________________
HIS CREATION.
As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God.--John 1:12
My maternal Grandparents lived in a large farmhouse where I loved to visit them. It was in a different country, so I went there for summer vacations. Soon I found out that there were other young people living there and, as I grew up, I realized that these young people were foster kids, some with learning disabilities, others with difficult upbringings who needed a nurturing place to live. They found a safe home with my grandparents, and some of them became like their own children, until adulthood. We all need a safe place, a home where we belong.
John announces that the Word of God was the active Agent through which everything was created (John 1:3). He Himself was Life (verse 4), He didn't just give life but He was life. And following the order of Creation, John talks about light; he says that the Word was life, and that life became "the Light of men" (verse 4). And when the Light appeared, the darkness did not understand it (verse 5). God was about to redeem His creation, and the story of redemption starts at the beginning. John goes on to say that Jesus "was the true Light which...enlightens every man" (John 1:9). Every person, at some level, has the chance to accept or reject the Light. Then we learn that when the Light came to His own home, those at home did not receive Him! How sad! Home is supposed to be your own place, where everybody knows your name. The Word, the Life-Giver, and Light Bearer "was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him" (verses 10, 11). This is the bad news, but there is also good news. Some did accept the Light. And to those who received Him by believing in Him, He gave a gift: a new status--children of God. Those who believe in Him are given that right (verses 12, 13). Have you ever been rejected by your own family, by your own home? God invites you to join the heavenly family. No one can take you away from Him. You become a child, born of the will of God. You have a home. And your Father knows your name.
My Response:______________________________________________
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