Thursday 14 September 2023

Background

The early Christians described themselves as followers of the way and they saw their aim as being to ‘walk in the truth’. They recalled the words of Jesus: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). All that was required was to look at the life of Jesus and the truth was made incarnate. Following him would lead them to know and to love God and to speak and behave in the way God wanted. 

 When I was a student at university, I attended an all-night vigil at Coventry Cathedral and listened to a Dutchman talk about his experience of growing up as a young child in occupied Holland. His father had always given him the rule never to lie. He was therefore deeply shocked to hear his own father lie to the Gestapo, saying there were no Jews hiding within their house when, in reality, there were. When the Gestapo left, he asked his father to explain why he had broken his rule. The answer he received was that his father had acted according to a greater truth – what Christ would have said in those circumstances. This story wonderfully conveyed how more meaningful it is to follow Jesus than to follow a set of rules. 

Those who had the privilege of spending time with Jesus vouched for this: "We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life" (1 John 1:1). Those who encountered the risen Christ equally testified to their faith in him and preached a simple message: learn in your life to follow the example of Jesus.  

To Ponder: 

• What is your understanding of how God is incarnate in Jesus? 
• Do you seek to model your life on a rule-book or on the person of Jesus? 
• If a person has the mindset of Jesus, what qualities do you think are most in evidence in their lives?    

Prayer 

 Father, I thank you that you gave us the gift of your son. He has revealed your nature and your love and he offers us a perfect role model. In the words of the hymn:
    May the mind of Christ, my Saviour, 
    live in me from day to day,
    by his love and power
   controlling all I do and say.  Amen.