"Next Witness, Please"

Scripture Passage

1 John 1:1-4:6

Scripture Focus

We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. (1 John 1:1 NLT)

Observation

Yes, I’m beating the same drum two days in a row. Still…

Yesterday, we focused on the eyewitness accounts of the Apostle Peter. “We saw,” Peter says, “his majestic splendor with our own eyes … ” (2 Peter 1:16 NLT). In other words, “We didn’t invent ‘clever stories’—we reported historical fact!”

And then today, the prescribed reading opens with these words—We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. (1 John 1:1 NLT)

Is Someone perhaps orchestrating a theme here? “We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands.” I love that! At the time of this posting, it’s Christmas Eve. We’re within a few breaths…a few heartbeats…of that day each year when the whole world (okay—look, I know not literally the whole world stops to celebrate Christmas…but grant me a little literary license here)…that day each year when the whole world stops to take notice of the birth of the baby who was God-become-flesh.

Is not the historical reality of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, simply marvelous (in the original sense of the word—something to be marveled at)? Another voice from the Word of God announces that this is not a fable we’re reading…not someone’s philosophical ponderings…not someone’s wishful thinking. Au contraire! (A little French for you there.) As John says, “We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands.” That’s just astounding!

Thank you, Father, for the gift of your Son. Thank you Eternal Word, for becoming flesh and dwelling among us. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for showing us all things and leading us into all truth. You, Triune Godhead, are indeed the “one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:6 NIV).

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