Well, I want to talk to you for a moment about the danger of familiarity. You know, if you're familiar with Jesus, it's a wonderful thing; it means God has visited you by grace and opened your mind and opened your heart. But familiarity is a dangerous thing.
You know, imagine you're driving every day to work, and the very first day you take that drive on your first day of work, you're driving down a road with 200-year-old beautiful trees, and you're just amazed at the beauty of these trees, and the glory of God in creation. But six weeks later, you're pounding on your dash saying the traffic drives you crazy, and you haven't noticed a tree in three weeks. That's what familiarity does to us. We quit looking, we quit thinking, we quit hearing. And so, it's important to keep going back to these places where Jesus is so powerfully described to us.
The next thing that John says is as mind-blowing as his declaration that Jesus was with and is God. John wants us to know that the very first chapters of the Bible, there in Genesis, are about Jesus. That Jesus is the character, chief character, and hero of Genesis 1 and 2. The story of Genesis is the story of Jesus. You don't have to wait until Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John to meet Jesus because the Bible welcomes you to meet him in Genesis.
Now, maybe you're thinking, "Paul, I've read Genesis; I haven't ever read the name Jesus. What in the world are you talking about?" Well, listen to the words of John--this is John 1, verse 3:
"All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made."
Who is the 'him' in this passage? It's Jesus. Let your mind be blown here for a minute; it's good for you. John is telling you that the one who created everything that exists in the physical universe--this is mind-blowing--has now become a part of the same physical creation he made. John wants you to know, that although Jesus lived as a man and walked on earth, he was not created. God the Father carried out his creative purpose through the creation activity of the Son, but the Son was not created.
Now think about biblical history for a moment. Jesus was the creator of Adam and Eve. He communed with them in the garden. He saw their rebellion. He understood the death and destruction that sin brought into the world. But Jesus would not leave the world in this sin-scarred condition. This is just mind-boggling. So, the creator was willing to humble himself, becoming part of the creation, subjecting himself to the fallen world, so that through his life, through his death, through his resurrection, he might rescue his creation from the damage and destructiveness and decay of sin.
The creator became part of the creation because creation was on a one-way road to death. God loved his world so much that God the Son left his throne in glory, became a man, started his life, the creator, as a dependent human being, born in a manger, willing to suffer all of the tragedies and effects of the fall, so that you and I would have life and life eternal!
Something always captures the awe of your heart; may this capture the awe and wonder of your heart in a way that is life-shaping and transforming!
Questions for Personal Reflection or Group Discussion
1. Why is familiarity with Jesus a dangerous thing? In what ways have you become dangerously familiar with the person of Jesus to the point that you perhaps don't see him the way you used to? How can you change to become more intentionally familiar with Christ?
2. What is your initial reaction to the fact that Jesus is right there on display as the chief character of Genesis 1 and 2? How might your perspective shift on the book of Genesis knowing that Christ is front and center? How does knowing that Jesus was the Creator of all physical things blow your mind when you think about the fact that he became a part of his physical creation?
3. If Jesus saw the active rebellion of Adam and Eve in the garden and knew that he would be the one to heal what they broke when he came to die for the sin they ushered into the world, how does that help you to appreciate the loving kindness of God the Son in ways you maybe didn't before?
4. If something always captures the awe of your heart, what other things beside Christ might be doing so for you and how might he become the only one worthy of your awe? How does this Scripture from John 1 capture your heart in ways it may not have before now?
Conversation Prompts to Use with Children
For Younger Children:
• The beginning of the book of John says that Jesus was there at the beginning of Genesis when all things were made through him and couldn't have been made without him. How does that make you think differently about the beginning of the Bible?
• Does the story of Christ in the Bible ever feel over-familiar to you to the point that it might seem kind of boring? Why or why not?
For Older Children:
• Does the story of Christ in the Bible ever feel over-familiar to you to the point that it might seem kind of boring? Why or why not?
• Why do you think being too familiar with the story of Jesus might be a dangerous thing?
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