Daily Devotional for March 1, 2015

John 1:1
In the beginning was the one
    who is called the Word.
The Word was with God
    and was truly God.

Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.

I’ve been working with old photographs lately...scanning, labeling and cataloging them.  My goal is to have a digital copy of all of our photos that identifies the persons or subject matter and is preserved for posterity.  Wish me luck!

This week, I’ve worked mostly on photos that I inherited from my grandparents, who were born between 1907 and 1912, so you can “do the math”.  One of the things that struck me as I worked with these photos has been the “family resemblance” in so many.  In one photo of my maternal grandmother, I clearly see the face of my sister.  I’ve had to look at more than one picture of my Mam-ma Polly when she was young to convince myself that I was not the person in the photo.  And in pictures of each of these ancestors when they were babies, I have seen some familiar facial features of present-day “babies”.

All of this reminds me that our DNA predates us throughout every generation.  Long before we were born, many of our smirks, defining physical characteristics – and even mannerisms – were present in our ancestors.  I use this illustration as an attempt to describe this passage from John 1.  This is the best way I know to explain what John is telling us - that Jesus has been with us “since the beginning”.

Jesus Christ is “the Word”…and as hard as it is to wrap our brains around this, the “DNA” of Jesus was with God before creation. What does this mean for us today?  I believe that the message God is giving us is that He has ALWAYS been with us and available to us – even since before He created the earth. Just as there is no denying our DNA, there is no viable explanation to substitute for God’s presence in our lives.  He is unique…one-of-a-kind…all encompassing and completely perpetual.

Try as some might to deny His existence…God remains steadfast and available to each of us.  All we have to do is acknowledge Him. THIS is the God I want to serve!  God is more than family…He was, is, and will always be EVERYTHING – and He wants ME to be a part of His world! 

Just as I am labeling old photos with names, descriptions, and relationships to one another, I want to be labeled as a child of God…one of His chosen – now and forever.  I cannot change that God chose me…but I get to decide whether to accept my place in His family.  I wouldn’t want to belong to any other…what about you?

©2015 Debbie Robus