NEAR TO THE HEART OF GOD
No one has ever seen God; but God's only Son, he who is nearest to the Father's heart, he has made him known. John 1:18, N.E.B.
There is one memory that I vividly recall from my childhood--a memory that is triggered by certain sounds. I can recall riding in the back seat of my dad's big chrome-toothed Buick, listening to the scratchy sounds of the AM radio as he would tune in that classic broadcast, The Voice of Prophecy. Just before H.M.S. Richards would speak, their male quartet would always sing that familiar hymn, "There is a place of quiet rest, near to the heart of God, a place where sin cannot molest, near to the heart of God."
I am probably among thousands of listeners who, to this day, cannot sin that hymn in church without recalling the mellow sounds of the old King's Heralds Quartet reverently intoning the bliss of being "near to the heart of God." But may I invite us all to go beyond our reverie, to probe for the deeper meaning of that experience of being near to the heart of God.
It is, after all, a biblical phrase. Today's verse says that Jesus had the privilege of being the "nearest to the Father's heart." Though John is using a very picturesque metaphor, we can see clearly that he is speaking of something more than just physical closeness to the Father. He says that Jesus is qualified by that closeness to make the Father known to people who have never seen Him.
Being near the Father's heart, then, must have something to do with understanding the Father's character, with knowing the things that are important to God. John's Gospel is filled with the theme of Jesus' coming to this earth in order to make the Father known to us. He begins at the beginning: Jesus can tell us about the Father because He is nearest to the Father's heart.
We too are nearest to the Father's heart when we listen to what Jesus is telling us about the Father. John says that Jesus' message about the Father was more than spoken; it "became flesh," a tangible, visible, personal presence. In beholding Jesus' life we behold "the glory...of the Father." In being drawn to Jesus we are being drawn to His Father, the source of eternal life. And that is eternal life.
No one has ever seen God; but God's only Son, he who is nearest to the Father's heart, he has made him known. John 1:18, N.E.B.
There is one memory that I vividly recall from my childhood--a memory that is triggered by certain sounds. I can recall riding in the back seat of my dad's big chrome-toothed Buick, listening to the scratchy sounds of the AM radio as he would tune in that classic broadcast, The Voice of Prophecy. Just before H.M.S. Richards would speak, their male quartet would always sing that familiar hymn, "There is a place of quiet rest, near to the heart of God, a place where sin cannot molest, near to the heart of God."
I am probably among thousands of listeners who, to this day, cannot sin that hymn in church without recalling the mellow sounds of the old King's Heralds Quartet reverently intoning the bliss of being "near to the heart of God." But may I invite us all to go beyond our reverie, to probe for the deeper meaning of that experience of being near to the heart of God.
It is, after all, a biblical phrase. Today's verse says that Jesus had the privilege of being the "nearest to the Father's heart." Though John is using a very picturesque metaphor, we can see clearly that he is speaking of something more than just physical closeness to the Father. He says that Jesus is qualified by that closeness to make the Father known to people who have never seen Him.
Being near the Father's heart, then, must have something to do with understanding the Father's character, with knowing the things that are important to God. John's Gospel is filled with the theme of Jesus' coming to this earth in order to make the Father known to us. He begins at the beginning: Jesus can tell us about the Father because He is nearest to the Father's heart.
We too are nearest to the Father's heart when we listen to what Jesus is telling us about the Father. John says that Jesus' message about the Father was more than spoken; it "became flesh," a tangible, visible, personal presence. In beholding Jesus' life we behold "the glory...of the Father." In being drawn to Jesus we are being drawn to His Father, the source of eternal life. And that is eternal life.
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