Message
January 5, 2014
The Word
A young girl who was writing a paper for school came to her father and asked, “Dad, what is the difference between anger and exasperation?”
The father replied, “It’s mostly a matter of degree. Let me show you what I mean.” With that, the father went to the telephone and dialed a number at random. To the man who answered the phone, he said, “Hello, is Melvin there?”
The man answered, “There’s no one living her named Melvin. Why don’t you learn to look up numbers before you dial them?!”
“See,” said the father, “That man was not a bit happy with my call. He was probably very busy with something and we annoyed him. Now watch!
The father dialed the number again. “Hello. Is Melvin there?”
“Now, look here,” came the heated reply. “You just called this number and I told you there is no Melvin living here. You’ve got a lot of nerve calling me again!” The receiver was slammed down hard.
The father turned to his daughter and said, “You see, that was anger. Now, I’ll show you what exasperation means.”
He again dialed the same number to hear a violent voice roar, “Hello!”
The father calmly said, “Hello, this is Melvin. Have there been any calls for me?”
Through the ages since the birth of Christ, humanity has come to the point of exasperation, discussing what it all means and why. Through puffed-up attitudes about ourselves, we need to understand this God thing to make life work correctly. But who can tell us what to do? We are human. We are brilliant. We can figure things out on our own. After all, we have science. Seriously? Are we closer to peace on earth than we were two-thousand years ago?
Like dissertations on truth, not many take on the understanding of “The Word” except to say that the Bible is the Word of God and leave it there. Then there are some who claim God speaks to them and that what they are told in these connections with the Almighty is the word of God, and others had better listen. To religious leaders claiming they have a special connection, I repeat the question posed to my Sunday school teachers, which is; do you expect me to live my life by what you say? If you do, you had better be right.
Some claim that the Bible is not the Word of God, that the Bible only points us to the Word. The same ones relay their belief that the Word is Jesus Christ, and that by following Messiah we have the connection we need.
We have explanations that should connect us to basic understanding, such as the words of Messiah himself, amplified by the likes of the Gospel writers and learned theologians among us since Bible times. Still, there are theories and ideas about what the Word of God should mean to us. Top all that with tradition and denominational thinking and we see that confusion rules while we are told that we are redeemed through all that confusion. Heaven help us!
There is much agreement with those most familiar with the Bible, that if there were only two books available to us we would do best with Genesis and John. Such thought certainly rings true with me! These two books are where we find attempts to teach us the foundation of everything, starting with that two-word phrase, “The Word.”
It is fitting then, that we begin the New Year with a serious yet elementary look at John the first chapter, from verse one through 18. Here we find the basic understanding of God and His role in the universe, the world and with mankind. It’s either foolish or brave to take on such task of explaining these verses. Decide at the end which it is for me.
The beginning of the Gospel of John reads like this; “The Word was in the beginning, and that very Word was with God, and God was that Word.” Greek for “word” is log’-os, meaning “something said, including thought, topic, reasoning, motive, computation, intent, talk, tidings, utterance, word and work. Log’-os comes from leg’-o, yes, the word used by the toy makers, but means in scriptural context, “to lay forth and relate, or break silence.” What is behind the “Word?” We can obviously see that intelligence, thought, reasoning, intent and even work, which means order and ability to create, support the very meaning. The Greek understanding of God is, “The supreme Divinity, a magistrate, exceeding, with an emphasis on ‘the.’” The “magistrate” portion means one entrusted with administration of the laws. Is this what God is? There is an interconnection involving understandings and yes, even work, to see the complexity and simplicity of God.
The last two weeks I have explained the importance of truth leading to love with God and man. Once again, I point to the value of truth in the Word. Had God decided to create the world with anything but truth, we would not be here. Making the laws of physics into lies or deceit would result in nothing, and nothingness, which equals evil. Even the most hardened science-relying atheist cannot change the fact that lies in science or physics will absolutely and without question, not work, period. So being opposed to Christ, the one who brought truth to humanity is opposing the very reason they physically exist, yet they deny Him.
There was only truth within the Word when the Universe was put in place, and with God there is only truth now as well. Sharing God’s truth with us is what Messiah came to do, including the ability to create, which also must be done in complete truth. Christianity often teaches that God and Son are together, and they are, in that the Word without truth is nothingness, but the Word, or God with truth, the Son, is everything. That is why the light that shines through the Word is truth, as the scripture relays, “…the same light shines in darkness, and the darkness does not overcome it.” There is no way that lies can overcome truth, no matter how much effort is put into making the world dark. The most profound example is the crucifixion scene itself. There was an attempt to snuff out the light and bury truth, but it came back after three days, proving that humanity cannot bury truth for long. The Word with truth will always prevail.
We recognize denial by those who reject the necessity of truth, yet it was by truth that even doubters came into physical being. Can their very soul be a lie? If yes, then they cannot function within the frame of love. The deniers of truth object to you living in love because true love is an impossible destination for them. While choosing a lie, they object to your truth and claim it’s unfair, that what you have should be theirs. Perhaps you have known people who insist on promoting lies in an attempt to bring you into their miserable existence.
Living outside truth is not relegated to people who don’t know better. Temptation to oppress or deceive to gain the upper hand is sometimes overwhelming, even for the most righteous. When evil wins and consumes people, particularly those with leadership or persuasive abilities, followers often focus on the liar rather than the lie, seeing that person as truth as they want truth to be. How many men meet beautiful women and don’t care if they lie? Beauty attracts and even attracts truth-loving people to believe a lie. Leo Tolstoy wrote, “It is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness.” This does not mean that all beauty is a delusion, yet we know that many times lies do come in the form of light, brilliance or beauty, and in those cases, “delusion” is the right word.
The importance of truth to the Word, being God, is an absolute and critical to humanity. Without non-concealing, verifiable truth, reality is nonexistent. The idea that a lie told often enough becomes truth is a fallacy and lie in itself. Still, a repeated lie is a tactic used by evil so the wrong repeated will sound or feel familiar. Without truth constantly held as a standard beside all communication, lies are believed with the result being destruction.
How I wish the writer of the Gospel of John had added to the phrase, “The Word was in the beginning, and that very Word was,” a word. If he were to select that Word, it is likely, LOVE. In John first chapter the narrative dances around this issue, allowing us to search for ourselves. But then we go to First, Second and Third John where we find this word clearly stated. For example, First John 4 verse 8 reads, “He who does not love does not know God; for God is love.” Go ahead; look up “is” so there is no confusion. Is means equals or “same as.” Then we find in First John 4 verse 16, “God is love; and he who dwells in love abides in God.”
Today’s world is so void of love and truth that we have come to the point of believing in personalities or people who are not the founders of love, instead of honoring the originator of love. Our standard for love has been reduced because we desperately want to live in love yet forget that truth is not an option, but a critical ingredient to love. Truth is the result of love and love is the result of truth—can’t separate them. This is why First John 5 verse 12 reads, “He who believes in the Son has life; he who does not believe in the Son of God does not have life.” This literally tells us that separating truth from love cancels both. How did humanity come to know truth? The answer is in our focus scripture, John first chapter, which reads in part, “truth and grace came into being by Jesus Christ.” If you don’t believe in God, do you believe in love? If you don’t believe in the Christ, do you believe in truth? If we have both truth and love personified in God and Messiah, then avoid trying to convince believers that love and truth don’t exist, because you know they do.
Is the world better for believing in love and truth? If not, in which world of lies and apathy would you prefer to live? War is the result of our spiritual world out of harmony, and nothingness exists in a physical world without synchronization by love and order. The choice to take the elements of the physical world and make something to support life was God’s. If God is love and love is the cohesive power of the universe, then substance does come out of chaos when love is in control. Tellis Papastavro writes, “It, love, is the power that holds together every electron in every atom that comprises form.” As the physical world is in order and beneficial because of love, so is the world of human relationships, including our social order. To claim that God has no place in society is to deny the power that makes all things work together for good.
We have choices, just as God has choices in the creative process. We can attach ourselves to a world of fantasy and call it real, lying to ourselves, or deal with truth so we can live in love. We also have choices with every conscious minute we live. Humanity can understand that love must rule for us to thrive, and that peace and order exist when we all accept the uniform truth of Messiah, or we can attempt to take apart what God has joined together through lies.
The pendulum that swings between good and evil, truth and lies seems to be swinging in the wrong direction, judging by the hate, chaos and terror we inflict on each other. There is a mark, a measure of our acceptance of God and each other, and that measure is found in John 13:35, which quotes the Teacher saying, “By this every man shall know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another.”
Is there an opposite of that statement? How about, “Every man will know you are a liar if you practice hate by denying Messiah?” First John 4:20 and 21 turns up the volume of that statement and puts it this way, “If a man says, I love God, and yet hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have received from Him that he who loves God ought to love his brother also.”
The measure of love and truth seem to be rather precise, whether you follow the scriptural gauge or not. Those who are fooled by lies are the same ones who fail to hold the measure of truth to everything, and that failure is a choice, a choice of denying the truth of Messiah.
So there is a word that is key to creation, a word that brings everything together that should be together, including the result of original love, humanity. The writer of the Gospel of John knew what he was writing, and that truth still applies to us.
Since we have had those words so long, what happened to us? Humanity learned from the earliest days that power, at least temporary power, could be gained with deception. Our lust for power over others is so great that we forgot how to live in love, and set truth aside for personal gain. We were told but we could not hear or reason truth for ourselves. If we were ever to come back to love through truth, we had to have an example—a person who could live it, right in front of us, and be willing to do whatever it took, take whatever punishment we could dish out, so we could see the possibility. We lost the reasoning of how truth could rule, so that One came to be the example we needed.
We were so far from God’s Love and truth that we did our best to put this Savior aside, even kill and bury Him. What this example did was recorded so we would have ages to study and immolate Him and his actions so that real power could be used and exercised by us all for the good and love of our fellow man. Evil kept feeding lies and placing power over others before us so we would take that path, but love keeps calling us, and truth keeps reminding us where the real power is, the power of God and of love. It’s in this love and truth that we can heal and even do things greater than did our Example, Messiah.
John 14:12 puts it this way, “I say to you, he who believes in me shall do the works which I do; and even greater than these things he shall do, because I am going to my Father.” Then, verse 13 gives us the reason, “And whatever you ask in my name, I will do it for you, so that the Father may be glorified through his Son.”
Allow a paraphrase of these verses. If you truly believe in and exercise truth in all things, you too will be a miracle worker in your world. Yeshua, truth, is now beside the Father, Love. Now, whatever you ask in total truth and love for your fellow man will be granted so that the world will know that Love is purified with truth and is all powerful.
When we pray in the name of Jesus, Messiah, Master, we are asking the Son, or truth, to purify our request to total truth so it can be accepted and acted upon by the Father.
Until we collectively come together under the truth of Messiah, we will continue to dilute the Word of God with man’s ideas and attempts at power, whether in the religious or political worlds. These illusions only keep us from becoming the powerful disciples we know we can be, and replace peace with exasperation.
The word has been and always will be, “Love.” And, the only way to live in love is through Truth as represented by Messiah.
In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, amen.
©2014, J.Tilton
