Tough Questions for Christians March 14 Devotional

JOHN 14:9-11 | ⁹ Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. ¹¹ Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, but if you do not, then believe because of the works themselves.”

The “scandal of particularity” is the claim that within the historical stream, at a particular place and time, within the life of a particular man, God has given us truth for every time and place—truth about us, about life, about death, and about His own nature and purposes.

The scandal and the beauty of this claim deepens when we examine the character of His appearance and the substance of this truth. Namely that God in the person of Jesus, would downsize His         presence and experience the drama and trauma of human life, including dependence, suffering, and death. That He would choose to do this and to take responsibility for His wayward and rebellious creatures is truly shocking. This truth turns the entire cosmic reality into a love story.

Do you understand the story of creation as a love story?

Gracious God,

You are Creator, Redeemer, and Restorer. You bring life out of death. You rule and yet You become a subject, You show Your glory in weakness and Your power in love. We praise You!

Amen.