In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

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. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known. (John 1:1-18)

God in the Middle of Our Camp

John 1:1-18

When we pull out the Advent candles and begin to look toward the celebration of Christ’s coming into the world, we are making a heavy declaration. Each day of this season is a reminder that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). Matthew’s description of Jesus as the fulfillment of the prophecy of Immanuel, God with us (1:23) and Paul’s assertion that “in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19) are essentially affirming the same amazing proclamation of good news. John’s words point our minds back to the tabernacle of the Old Testament, in which God moved into the neighborhood with His people. Jesus’ incarnation was the ultimate fulfillment of this divine descent. Christmas is, at its heart, a celebration of how because of Jesus now God dwells in the middle of our camp. If God engages the world, not from a safe distance, but from within, what implications does that engagement have for our lives and ministries?

Friends, whose neighborhood does Jesus want to move into through us? Whose messy life might God be inviting us to engage with genuine love? As we celebrate Advent, heading toward Christmas, let’s do so celebrating how God has moved right in the middle of our camp and asking ourselves, “How might my life point others to Jesus?”

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