When you feel alone or unimportant or when you are struggling to experience the grace and truth your heart needs, please remember that you are not alone, you are not unimportant and you can experience grace and truth in the presence of Christ who is the life-giving, life-sustaining presence we need.

Last week in John 1:1 – 13, we learned that Jesus is the divine Word and the light of the world who gives us the right to become children of God.

This week in John 1:14 – 18 we learned that we are not alone, we are not unimportant and we can experience the fullness of grace and truth this Christmas season. We get this privilege because Christ came to Earth. He came to this sin-soaked planet from his perfect place in Heaven so that he could be born as a human to die as the Savior so that we could become children of God. Jesus is the life-giving, life-sustaining presence we need.

John 1:14 – 18…

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. 15 (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.’”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

#1: You Are Not Alone (14; 18)

Loneliness is a powerful emotion. It springs up from many different desires. We desire comfort, affirmation, security and acceptance. When those desires are not met by a sustainable and life-giving presence we feel alone. When we feel alone we chase things we believe will satisfy those desires. We believe the prospect of a new friendship or romantic relationship will satisfy our loneliness. We believe the thrill of pursuing a new job will satisfy our loneliness. We believe the high of drowning our feelings in a substance or an obscene habit will satisfy our loneliness. As we struggle with these feelings of loneliness and all the desires that feed those feelings and all the habits that flow out of those desires and feelings we need a fresh drink of water.

This is where what John says about Jesus in verses 14 and 18 becomes a fresh drink of water for us. John says that “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. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side has made him known.” We are not alone.

#2: You Are Not Unimportant (15)

Feeling important is a powerful emotion. Just like loneliness, this emotion springs up from many different desires. We desire power, respect and success. When these desires do not get satisfied by a sustainable and life-giving presence we feel unimportant. When we feel unimportant we chase things we believe will satisfy those desires. We crave success so we try to climb the vocational ladder because we want to feel important. We hunger for power so we try to control people because we want to feel important. We thirst for respect so we buy things we cannot afford because we want to feel important. As we struggle with these feelings of unimportance and all the desires that feed those feelings and all of the habits that flow out of those desires and feelings we need a fresh perspective.

What John says about Jesus in verse 15 gives us a fresh perspective. John says that “(John the Baptist) 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.’” We are not unimportant.

#3: You Can Experience Grace And Truth (14; 16-17)

Grace and truth can feel so intangible. We live in a world where grace has been relegated to license and truth has become relative to each individual. The world we live in teaches us that grace means ignoring and permitting sin and truth depends on what each individual believes based upon the society they live in. The outcome of this is moral and ethical confusion. How can we know what true grace is? How can we know the difference between what is truly right and truly wrong? If grace is license and if truth is relative then the result is a cocktail of moral and ethical confusion.

And into this moral and ethical confusion John presents us with Jesus who is God in the flesh, full of grace and truth, through whom, grace and truth is experienced. John says it this way in verses 14 and 16 – 17, “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. 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.” We can experience grace and truth in the midst of a morally and ethically confused world. Jesus is the fullness of grace and truth. Through Christ we receive more and more and more grace. The loving law of God is perfectly manifested in the person and work of Christ. Jesus, the face of grace and truth is the presence of the perfect law of love. You and I can experience the presence of grace and truth in the person and work of Christ at the cross and the empty tomb.

Application Questions…

When you feel alone or unimportant or when you are struggling to experience the grace and truth your heart needs, please remember that you are not alone, you are not unimportant and you can experience grace and truth in the presence of Christ who is the life-giving, life-sustaining presence we need.

  1. Feelings:
    1. Which feeling have you struggled with the most lately? Loneliness? Unimportance? Moral and ethical confusion? What was happening when you felt this way? Why do you think you felt this way?
    2. What does repentance look like for you in regards to your feelings? Feelings are valid. But how do you plan to not be controlled by your emotions moving forward? What ways will you battle those emotions?
  2. Desires:
    1. What desires do you think were underneath your feelings? There could be multiple desires at play but work hard to narrow it down to two or three that really drove your emotions. Did you desire or want comfort, affirmation, security or acceptance? Did you want power, respect or success?
    2. What does repentance look like for you in your desires and wants? How can you redirect your desires towards Jesus? In what ways does Christ fulfill your desires and wants?
  3. Behavior:
    1. What kinds of behavior do you see flowing out of these feelings and desires? How have you been behaving when you are all alone? What kind of sinful behavior do you struggle with at work? How about in your relationships? Your spending habits?
    2. What does repentance look like for you in your behavior? What do you need to resist doing? What do you need to do instead?
  4. Prayer: Spend some time in prayer asking the Lord to forgive your sin, remind you of his great love for you and help you to change.