Scripture: 'For it is God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.' (2 Cor 4. 6)ReflectionIn my early Christian life I was encouraged to see Jesus as friendly and approachable. but in contrast I often imagined God as distant and unapproachable. In William P Young's book 'The Shack', God is depicted as a jolly round black woman, and Jesus as a jean-clad hippie carpenter. What is your mental image of Jesus or God? I ask, because it makes a real difference in our lives.The mental image we have of God is usually formed by others as we grew up - parents, teachers, Sunday school etc - have you ever stopped to reflect on your mental image of God?The verse above then, might be a pretty surprising revelation, because it says that we can see God in Jesus, and therefore Jesus in God - one and the same being, not separate entities after all! The bible tells us that Jesus suffered death on the cross. Could that also mean that God suffered death on the cross too? That changes things for me. Now God steps down from Heaven and knows what it is like to suffer. He knows pain and has tasted death. To me, that makes him much more relatable - God Himself knows what it means to be human, in all its wonder and sorrow.Take a moment to close your eyes and see your mental picture of God - perhaps in the light of this verse, it needs re-imagining?Vicki Young
Scripture:In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… In him was life and the life was the light of all.” (John 1.1,3)ReflectionAt first, as a baby, we can only make things happen by making noise. That only works if we get attention. Already we are beginning to learn how to manipulate other people - and to experience what it is to be cared for or neglected, loved or not. When we learn to talk, we can begin to create our own world and express our own will.John’s experience of Jesus led him to see that Jesus knew the absolute fundamental truths about the human spirit. Yes, the words that Jesus spoke were powerful, but, more than that, it was not just his words but his person, he was the Word. Here John could see in action what had before been a story about prehistory - “God said Let there be Light and it was so”. In Jesus he recognised God constantly creating a new world, breathing life and order into our chaos.Words change things, change us, change those about us. Where can I find the right word?David Harmsworth
