16th. May. 2022. Daily Devotion.
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. 18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in the closest relationship with the Father, has made him known. John1:14,18
Can you imagine having an argument at the supermarket about whether Jesus Christ is God? Today, Christians everywhere accept the fact that Jesus, God’s Son, is fully God. But in the early church, Christians argued vehemently about whether Jesus could be God if he was God’s only Son.
When we call someone a son, we naturally conclude that the father came first, and the son came second. So, when we refer to Jesus in the Apostles’ Creed as God’s “only Son,” are we somehow putting him in second place?
No. Since the fourth century the church has officially upheld what the Holy Spirit inspired John to write in our passage for today: “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.”
We can’t fully comprehend the mysterious relationship of God the Father and his only Son. But by faith we believe that Jesus is God’s Son. By faith we believe, with John, that through God’s only Son all of creation was made (John 1:1-3). By faith we also believe that only God’s own Son, through his death, could bring us into a new life filled with everlasting peace and joy.
As we live in the love of God and his Son each day, we can look for ways, wherever we are, to share that love with others. Kurt Selles.
Jesus, we believe you are God’s only Son. Help us to share your love wherever we are. Amen.
Tender and compassionate God, you are our steadfast companion in the joyous times of our lives. When we rejoice, you celebrate with us; when we are anxious and afraid, you offer us a relationship where we can find courage to face the unknown; when we weep with sadness, you are our comforter. Help us, O God, to believe that you receive us as we are, and help us to entrust ourselves, with all our many struggles and hopes, to your faithful and abiding care. Amen.
Be to us, O Christ, peace to the troubled mind and home to the wanderer. Be as living water for our cleansing, as the song that soothes our sadness, and as the inward voice that directs all our days. Amen. Divine Service, William E. Orchard, 1919
Lord, every time the tide is high, and the gales blow in, we remember you stilled the storm. Bless those surrounded by the sea, with their lives dictated by tides, their goods and produce dependent on ships finding safe harbour.
Every time the tractor ploughs the field, and the picker gathers the crop, we remember you sow seeds of life. Bless those surrounded by agriculture, with their lives dictated by the seasons, their goods and produce dependent on the weather and the land.
Every time we see a plane in flight and turn our heads to the sky, we remember you made us your children. Bless those who fly, with their lives dictated by the winds and fog, our goods and produce flying through the heavens to find their way to our homes. Amen.