Remember
I’d like you to do something that I know is hard: Close your eyes and imagine nothing. Go ahead and try it for a moment. Imagine that there is no chair that you’re sitting in, no building, no plants, no animals, no people, not even a planet. There is no earth. Imagine that there is no moon or sun or stars. There is nothing—nothing that is, except God.
God is there. God has always been there, existing in three persons, in perfect love and fellowship.
Then, one of the persons in the Triune God, the one whom the Apostle John called the Word, the Word who was with God and who was God and through whom all things were made, the Word spoke.
The Word said, “Let there be light!”
Just at the sound of the Word’s voice, light filled the darkness! And the Word separated the light from the darkness. One he called Day, the other he called Night.
Then the Word spoke again, and an expanse separated the water below from the water above.
Then the Word spoke once more. The waters on the earth gathered together into one place, and dry land appeared. Along with the dry land, there were grasses, flowers, bushes, trees, and all kinds of vegetation.
Again, the Word spoke, and there was a sun and moon.
Once more, the voice of the Word went out, and swarms of living creatures filled the skies above and the oceans below.
Then the Word spoke again, and there were living creatures all over the face of the earth, lions and tigers and bears and livestock and creeping things and all kinds of beasts covered the earth.
Finally, this Word through whom all things were made got down and took dirt and dust and fashioned a human. He then breathed into the nostrils of this dirt statue, and it became a living creature, a man.
Sometime later, the Word said it was not good for the man to be alone. So he put the man to sleep and while he was asleep, the Word took one of the man’s ribs, fashioned a woman, and brought her to the man.
All of that is what it means for John to say that the Word was in the beginning, with God, was himself, God, that all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that has been made.
The Word spoke, and with the sound of his voice, where there had been nothing, there were galaxies, stars, planets, and moons throughout the universe that he spoke into existence. The Word spoke, and with the sound of his voice, there were continents, mountains, forests, oceans, and every living creature on earth.
And not only does everything in this spoken-into-existence creation work perfectly together, but it is also filled with great beauty.
What does all of this tell us about this person in the Triune God, this Word?
He is immeasurably brilliant and wise and artistic beyond anything we can imagine. And he is infinitely powerful. All that exists came into being just by his saying so.
Then John tells us something almost unbelievable, something that for many people is unbelievable: the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and The Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were made through him, and without him was not made any thing made that was made….And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us… (John 1:1-3, 14).
The God of such a divine nature and eternal power so as to create all that is, took on flesh, became a human being, and lived among other human beings. And John tells us his name, Jesus Christ (John 1:17).
Why did he do that, why did the Word become flesh and live in our world? John also told us. He came to be the lamb of God, to take away the sin of the world (John 1:29). How does a lamb take away sins? By dying as a sacrificial substitute.
That is what the great, amazing Word of infinite divine nature and eternal power came to do: to be a sacrificial lamb, to die as a substitute for you and for me.
This is the theme of the Book of Hebrews. Jesus is the high and holy one who is greater than the angels, greater than Moses, greater than the prophets, fully God and yet fully man, who was incarnated, lived in this world, suffered with us, was tempted in every way we are tempted, yet never sinned, and then died in our place so we can have life.
Meditate on that for a moment. Jesus, the Word, who made all things, died your death so that you can live his life. How does it make you feel? I hope you feel gratitude.
Do you wonder how you can express your gratitude to Jesus, the Word, for the life he has given you?
The writer of Hebrews helps us with that. Near the end of the epistle, in Chapter 13, he lists some things that we can do to show our appreciation for what Jesus did for us.
“Let brotherly love continue.” You can show gratitude to Jesus by loving the people that he loves, other believers.
“Show hospitality.” Jesus has been hospitable to you, welcoming you into his family. Show your gratitude by being hospitable to others.
“Let marriage be held in honor and be faithful to one another.” Believers are pictured as the bride of Christ. He is our faithful husband. We demonstrate our appreciation for him when we are faithful to our spouses.
“Keep your life free from the love of money.” Be generous. Are you grateful for the generosity of Jesus toward you? Then be generous with others.
If you’re familiar with Hebrews, you might have caught that I left something out. Those four things I said are ways we can demonstrate gratitude to Jesus—love one another, show hospitality, honor marriage, and be generous—are found in verses 13:1-2 and 4-5. I skipped verse 3.
Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them… (Hebrews 13:3).
We were imprisoned by our sin. Jesus has set us free. When we remember those who are incarcerated, physically imprisoned due to their sin, we show gratitude and appreciation to Jesus for all that he has done for us.
To put it another way, remembering prisoners is as important to Jesus as brotherly love, hospitality, faithful marriages, and generosity.
It is my prayer that more Christians and more churches will make remembering prisoners a ministry priority. I think doing so will please the Lord.
Much love, Barry
Please check out our April Newsletter and pray for our prison ministries.