Thursday 7th December
Read John 1:1-5
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (NIVUK)
The implications of these introductory words are vast. ‘All things’ includes us. The context naturally draws us back to creation as ‘through Him all things were made’ (v3a), but the second half of the verse, whilst seeming to repeat it, clarifies that ‘all things’ that have been made, were made and are sustained through Him.
Luther captured this idea well nearly five hundred years ago. “He is not a Master who, like a carpenter or builder, when he has prepared a house or ship, leaves the house for its owner to dwell in, or commits the ship to the mariners that they may traverse the sea in it, and he himself goes whither he may. No; God the Father has begun and finished all things by His Word, and preserves it also continually by the same, and remains with His work until He wills that it shall no longer exist (John 5:13). As we were made by Him without our assistance, so also we cannot be preserved of ourselves. Thus here, were all to understand that all things created are preserved, in being otherwise they would not long remain created.” (Martin Luther).
The Word of God sustains creation, including you and me.
