János 1,14

És az Íge testté lett és lakozék mi közöttünk (és láttuk az õ dicsõségét, mint az Atya egyszülöttjének dicsõségét), a ki teljes vala kegyelemmel és igazsággal.

John 1:14
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.



The WORD became FLESH -
I've been working my way through the Bible chapter by chapter. I'll be honest, I haven't gotten as far as I'd like for 2 reasons. One is that sometimes I'm lazy. The second is that sometimes it takes 2 or 3 readings to really grasp what the chapter is trying to tell me. Even with a devotional Bible, it's hard to discern what God is teaching me through His words. What would it mean if each of those verses became flesh - became REAL, tangible things. I can look in a store once to know what I can buy and can't buy (even now in Hungary) because I can see, touch and smell what they are. If I could see, touch, smell, taste or hear the words of Bible, how much more could I learn from it! But it DID become flesh. it DID and it became something i can grasp. it DID and now my job is to carry out that flesh to those who cannot grasp it.

We have see His GLORY, the glory of the ONE and ONLY -
IT happened. the moment I've been waiting for... the discussion in Hungarian about why I believe God exists. First question "Where is God?" There are so many textbook answers to that, it was easy to throw one out there. "God is not in Africa. He has forgotten them." I think my missionary friends in Zambia or Sudan can attest otherwise, but I heard him out. Explaining the problem that "God's heart is in Africa, but OUR hearts are not" was a little more difficult, but I think I got it. This young boy (17 years old) hasn't been to Africa and he has been taught not to care about others above himself - the ways the world has taught him. Trying to explain in my less-than-fluent Hungarian was a struggle, and I'm not sure I made much of an impression on my own beliefs. I believe that some of God's most amazing glory can be seen in some of the financially impoverished places. I have seen those with nothing raise their hands in worship. I have seen those without homes cry while receiving the elements of the Lord's Supper. I have seen the beaten and abused, persecuted, disabled, and weary teach others about the joy they hold in their hearts.

full of GRACE and TRUTH -
grace is a funny thing because it's something that doesn't exactly come naturally to humans. To freely give favor and love upon someone is extremely hard in this world. I used to think I had it down. Love everyone. Yet here, in some of my darkest struggles, I find myself unable to give love to some. If they're not going to receive it the way I think it should be received, then why bother? (Anyone else hear that alarm sounding?) NO. That's not grace. And truth - it's not so funny because we often shy away from it. I have found myself taking the "easy way out" in many instances when it was harder to express what I thought was truth. If I was the only one who believed a certain thing, shut up and tolerate. If the conversation was in Hungarian and I didn't really know how to express myself, agree and move on. (these silly alarms are driving me nuts!) NO. I kick myself again and again because they're things I notice so often in hindsight and yet, they repetually come up.



Lord, let me grasp Your words, Your flesh so that in the next instance, I can be a beacon of Your Glory and display Your grace and Your truth. Amen.