Advent 12/21/22 Sacred Knowing
Wednesday, December 21
1 John 5:6-12 (NRSV)
This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth. There are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood, and these three agree. If we receive human testimony, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has testified to his Son. Those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony in their hearts. Those who do not believe in God[c] have made him a liar by not believing in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son. And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
_____
How can one not believe in the existence of God and the authority of his word when standing on a beach, looking out into the vastness of the ocean and listening to the power of its crashing waves?
How can one not believe in the existence of God and the authority of his word when one watches the tiniest of acorns grow into the mightiest of oak trees?
How can one not believe in the existence of God and the authority of his word when one smells the succulent fragrance of a lilac, the rich aroma of a freshly mowed hayfield, or the intriguing smell of a puppy's breath?
How can one not believe in the existence of God and the authority of his word when gazing at a summer night's sky filled with more stars than an individual can count?
How can one not believe in God's existence and the authority of his word observing the growth of an expectant mother's womb, experiencing her child's birth and then touching the softness and warmth of the newly born being?
The heavens opened to us after Jesus' baptism and God proclaimed, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased" (Matt. 3:16-17).
Thus, one cannot believe in God's existence and the authority of his word without believing Jesus Christ is truly God's son.
-Terry McLaughlin
1 John 5:6-12 (NRSV)
This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth. There are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood, and these three agree. If we receive human testimony, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has testified to his Son. Those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony in their hearts. Those who do not believe in God[c] have made him a liar by not believing in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son. And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
_____
How can one not believe in the existence of God and the authority of his word when standing on a beach, looking out into the vastness of the ocean and listening to the power of its crashing waves?
How can one not believe in the existence of God and the authority of his word when one watches the tiniest of acorns grow into the mightiest of oak trees?
How can one not believe in the existence of God and the authority of his word when one smells the succulent fragrance of a lilac, the rich aroma of a freshly mowed hayfield, or the intriguing smell of a puppy's breath?
How can one not believe in the existence of God and the authority of his word when gazing at a summer night's sky filled with more stars than an individual can count?
How can one not believe in God's existence and the authority of his word observing the growth of an expectant mother's womb, experiencing her child's birth and then touching the softness and warmth of the newly born being?
The heavens opened to us after Jesus' baptism and God proclaimed, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased" (Matt. 3:16-17).
Thus, one cannot believe in God's existence and the authority of his word without believing Jesus Christ is truly God's son.
-Terry McLaughlin
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