Jesus Christ: The Word

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. (John 1:1-3)

As we head into Advent season, it is good to understand exactly who it is we are celebrating when we celebrate the man Jesus. John's gospel opens at the very beginning. Indeed, it gives us a glimpse before time. Before Man, before Earth, before the Universe, there was God. Outside of what we know as time itself, there He is, the Creator of All Things and Giver of All Life. 

We like to talk about Jesus as Son of God -- and He is. But He is so much more! 

This Man -- this man who was born the lowly, poor son of a carpenter; whose parents were so poor He had to be born in a stable; whose parents fled to Egypt just to save His life; who walked among us, healing and showing us what it means to love; who had no place to call home here on earth; who was mocked and beaten and brutally murdered -- this Man was, and is, God Himself. 

John tells us He was present for the creation of the Universe. That it was by Him that all things were created. He built this world. He created us. And then, by His great love for us, He lowered Himself to our level. 

Words are insufficient to capture the awe of this moment we celebrate once a year. The moment when the very Person of the Creator was pushed into the world of men through the womb of a young virgin girl, screaming and gasping for His first breath of oxygen, and then laid into a straw-filled trough. 

This birth wasn't His beginning. The Word, the Son of God, present and instrumental in the creation of all things has no beginning and no end. But what this birth shows us is that as eternal as He is, so is His love for us.

For His Name's Sake

He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake. (Psalm 23:3b)

Have you ever wondered exactly why it is that the Creator of the Universe loved us so much He would send His only Son to die at our hands, carrying the weight of our debt and guilt? Has it occurred to you to stop and wonder why this same Creator desires a personal relationship with people as tiny as we are -- and individually, at that?

It still amazes me to think about it. Why would this God be our shepherd? Why would He make us to lie down in green pastures, lead us beside still waters, restore our souls? Why would He deign to lead us in the paths of righteousness, which we are incapable of walking on our own? 

Why does He do these things? For His name's sake! To put it another way, because it's who He is. It is in His nature to love -- to truly love -- because Love is who He is. 

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. (1 John 4:7-8) (emphasis mine)

God is love. Our salvation has nothing to do with who we are; it has everything to do with who He is. Love is His very nature. It is the core and fiber of His being. He is Love, and so much more! He is Just. He is perfect. He, therefore, doesn't merely save us. He doesn't merely lead us to green pastures and still waters... but once He's taken us there, He then shows us how to be righteous. Because He loves us. 

Because that is who He is.

In The Paths of Righteousness

He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake. (Psalm 23:3b)

Our God is marked by His grace and mercy. These two key traits are how we best know our Messiah -- they are manifestations of His great love for us. We, meanwhile, are known by our need for His grace and mercy. If you're a Christian, this is pretty basic stuff. You don't come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ without first understanding what it is you need to be saved from. 

One of the wonderful things about having a God who saves though, is that He knows our strengths and weaknesses. Take, for example, Jesus' admonition in Matthew 5:48 to "be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." Does He really believe you and I, in our own strength, can come even close to that kind of standard? If He did, He wouldn't have needed to die. 

No. He knows you and I aren't capable of perfection. We take a couple steps toward Righteousness and are as completely lost as a ship in fog with no navigation. But He doesn't expect us to tread the path of Righteousness on our own. Instead, He leads us. 

This is part of what it means to be a shepherd. The sheep don't always know the way. They don't always have the destination in mind. They get distracted. But the Shepherd knows where He's going. He knows what the sheep need, and how to get them there. So He leads. 

And the leading, too, is a part of His grace.

He Restores My Soul

He restores my soul...
Psalm 23:3a

Have you ever been bone tired? It's that level of fatigue where you're not sure where you're going to come up with the strength to take another step. All your body wants to do is fall down and stay where it lands. It's that feeling you get when all your reserves are used up. There are no more second winds. There is, simply, nothing left.

The beauty of Psalm 23 is that it speaks to the soul in that same state of fatigue. The soul that is spiritually used up; when you feel like you've given everything you have, and then some. There's an old cliche that says God won't give you more than you can handle -- but, deep down, your soul knows it isn't true. We are constantly given more than we can handle on our own. With all the darkness in the world, with all those who use us, or abuse us, with all that we have to give of ourselves... it all becomes too much, until finally our souls want nothing else but to collapse in on themselves, to be tucked away into a dark corner, and kept safe and alone for the next several years.

I've been there. So have you.

But the good news is, God never expected us to do it on our own. We are given more than we can handle, because nothing is more than He can handle. He's in this with us -- even more, in fact. And when we're exhausted, He lets us rest in him. And He not only lets us rest, but restores our souls.

To restore means to renew; to bring back to a state of health and vigor. When we rest in Him, He doesn't merely lend us support enough to go on; He brings us back to full health. More, in fact, He makes us stronger, because of the trials we've already undergone.

When you're willing to let yourself be led -- when you recognize God as the Great Shepherd, and submit yourself to His will -- He will give you rest and restore your soul.

Beside Still Waters

He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters. (Psalm 23:2)

Is there anything as refreshing as a cool drink of water? Throughout the day, we consume a lot of different fluids. For some people, it's coffee or tea, juices or lemonade, adult beverages or soda. Yet, with all the choices the world offers, ultimately our bodies need -- our bodies crave -- simple, God-given water.

When you're going for a walk, or mowing the lawn, exercising in some way or simply exerting yourself more than usual, often the very first thing you want (after a breather) is pure, refreshing water.

Indeed, we love water so much, we find its very presence peaceful and calming. It's as though our spiritual selves long to be near it just as much as our physical bodies require it for survival. We build our homes next to it. We plan activities around it. We'll sit and stare at it for hours.

Maybe this need -- this physical, emotional, spiritual need -- is why Jesus talked about the Water of Life.

“Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:13-14)

As the Good Shepherd, Jesus knows our desires... but more than that, He knows our needs. It's our nature to drink. It's God's nature to lead us to the still, peaceful water of Life.

He Makes; He Leads

He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters. (Psalm 23:2)

Sometimes, kids need a nap. 

As a parent, my job is to lead my children. Sometimes, I can lead them by example, or through suggestion. And sometimes, because I'm the adult and know what's best for them, I have to express my will more insistently. I have to tell them what to do, and expect them to obey it. Naps are like that. Very rarely will one of my 5-year-old daughters tell me they want to take a nap. Even when I can judge by their behavior that a nap is exactly what they need, their own will is to keep going, to stay awake. So I must make them lie down. I'm not taking away their autonomy; I'm helping them grow, because I'm giving them exactly what they need -- even when they don't know it. 

Sometimes, God works this way as well. Once we put ourselves in His hands, His expectation is that we will be submissive to His will. We are the sheep; He is the shepherd. 

What this means is that sometimes He will lead us beside still waters. He will guide us to refreshing water, and we will drink, because it is in our nature to do so. But it is also in our nature to keep going, long after our ability to walk straight, to think clearly, to follow well. We're not people who trust easily; who put ourselves fully under the authority of another. We're not people who willingly rest under the protection of another -- even when rest is exactly what we need. So, like a loving Father, He makes us lie down.

Many people have experienced this. Certain doors close; options are removed until all that is left is to shut down and to rest in His arms. 

Maybe this is what Jesus meant when He said,

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. (Matthew 11:29-30)

He Makes Me To Lie Down in Green Pastures

He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters. (Psalm 23:2)

There is something peaceful about green pastures and still waters. The whole scene, set in just those two sentences, whispers, "rest," for those weary enough to need it. Later in the psalm, we'll learn about a valley of a shadow of death, and about enemies being present... so this respite, this calm interlude, is made that much more important.

Indeed, in the busyness of our lives, in the day-to-day drama of living out our lives for Christ, in a world that increasingly values Self above all else, I find that I seek rest more and more. In the constant noise of our bustling age of electronic everything, how sweet it is to find that quiet place and relax in the presence of the Shepherd!

Jesus again echoes the Psalm when He says,

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (John 14:27)

Yet, there's even more blessing in these pastures than simple rest. A shepherd himself, David knows that green pastures aren't merely bedding for tired sheep; they are also nourishment. A part of the rest offered here is the knowledge that their needs are being met. That they can rise at any time and partake in the abundant grass around them. 

This is what it means to rest in the abundant life of Christ: to lie down in green pastures, knowing the Shepherd is keeping watch, that He has met our needs, that He has it under control.