A Story to Share


1 John 1:1–4
1That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

We believe that John wrote his Gospel after he had the visions that became the last book of the Bible, Revelation. The opening verses of his doctrinal work, 1,2,3 John begins with his own eye witness, as reported in the Gospel of John. What we will find throughout these 131 verses is a constant Christology that draws us ever closer to the Savior. The Gospel of John starts with a similar introduction to the topic of John’s chief love; the Savior with whom he walked.

John 1:1–5,14
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Reading both of these passages makes one’s heart yearn with a desire to walk with Jesus as John did – personally and closely. In his old age, John is able to put together a lifetime of experiences that are all shaped by his time with Jesus. While we have not walked physically with the Savior, we still walk with Him every single day. While we have not had the joyful experience of meeting the corporal Jesus face to face, we do have stories to tell of His impact in our lives. We have a witness to share, just as John shares. We too have stories to tell of the Living Savior. We just need to remember them and share them. When the loving actions of the Savior are shared, hearts are moved and lives are changed. This is what John does very naturally and we can learn to emulate his actions.

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