Showing Up: Loving Others Like Jesus DoesSample

GOD SHOWS UP (Jesus moves into the neighborhood)

"In the beginning was the Word."

What or who is the Word that's talked about in these verses? Where was it in the beginning? How did it become human?

Such questions might be hard to answer, but these verses offer good news today. God doesn’t need us to fully understand him to see him. He doesn’t need us to be able to perfectly explain or to tell about him. He doesn’t need us to be perfect to be loved by him. He didn’t require anything of us as he took on flesh to be with us.

Dr. Nicole Massie Martin says, “In this miraculous way, Jesus, through the Spirit, makes God and God’s Word portable, residing in and around us through confession and belief.” (1)

Eugene Peterson translated John 1:14 this way: “God moved into the neighborhood." (2) The invisible God, creator and sustainer of the entire universe, became visible in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.

Wherever you may be ministering or serving or leading this week, things may look different than in the past. Perhaps you are concerned about what you’re leaving at home or feeling anxious about what the week will hold for you and your group. Remember that Jesus, the Word, has come. He was born on Earth in a tiny infant's body, just like some of your teen moms have with them this week.

Receive his peace. Receive his Holy Spirit, who sustains you. Receive his joy. Jesus delights to be with you today.

REFLECTION

Where are you hoping Jesus will show up this week?

What could it look like for you to let go of the struggle to understand and simply rest in his presence?

Tell Jesus how you feel and what you need this week. Invite him to speak to you and lead the way.

(1) Martin, Nicole Massie. Leaning in, Letting Go: A Lenten Devotional 2019. Chalice Press. St Louis, MO. (2018)

(2) Peterson, Eugene. The Message Bible. (1993)