The Vicarious Self 5

“In Him was Life and that Life was the light of men.” (“Life was in Him, Life that made sense of human existence.” Willard)

John’s claims for Christ continue to soar. He’s already insisted that Jesus and the Creator, God, are one and the same person. Now He’s telling us that this Divine Creator is alive and living a Life that “makes sense of our existence.”

This Man, if John is telling us the truth, is the Creator living the life of the created. He is the Designer’s blueprint animated; the scale model come alive. He is the “Image of God” on display; the consummate prototype of humanity; the true “Son of Man.”

For John, Jesus is the answer to the questions we were taught to ask the storyteller.

Who? or What?
When?
Where?
Why?
How?

Have you ever asked yourself those questions? Who am I? When will I discover myself or be discovered? Where am I supposed to be? Why am I here? If I have a purpose how do I make it happen?

John believes that Jesus is the answer to those questions. He believes it in more than general terms. Remember his rationale for writing this book. “I have written” what I have about Jesus “so that you may believe … and have Life in His Name.” This is for “You.” It is personal. Jesus answers those large questions for you.

When faced with major decisions, do you ask, “What would Jesus do?” If you really want to see Jesus “making sense of your existence,” try asking this. “What would Jesus do if he were me?”

You are not Jesus. You are unique. A never to be duplicated individual specifically created by God for a particular purpose. Jesus’ “way” applied to your life will enable you to reach the potential He sees in you.

Look at John. Obviously he did not undergo some cosmic makeover and become a clone of Jesus. He was John, the Son of Thunder, when he fell asleep in Gethsemane while his Master was praying and plead with them, “Could you not watch and pray with me for just 1 hour?” He was that same John standing near the cross helplessly watching his Master being tortured and mocked. He, this John, was waiting in the upstairs room in Jerusalem when the Holy Spirit enveloped them and filled them with the awesome power of God. Something definitely happened to change him then. He was more the Son of Thunder than he’d ever been to that moment. But he was still John. Through persecution and the death of his Brother, one of the first Christ-followers murdered for telling Jesus’ story publicly, John joined his fellows in celebration of the suffering. He was certainly a much stronger and more courageous man. But he was still John. There were things about him that demonstrated the influence of Jesus on his life. Observers could tell that “he and the others had been influenced by Jesus.” But he was still John though now more certainly the Son of Thunder. He wrote his book about Jesus knowing full well it could cost him his life. And for that and other subversive activity – insurrection the Romans called it – he was sent into virtually solitary exile. There, on an Island called Patmos, Jesus chose to give him a phenomenal trust. The Master had seen enough. John had become the Son of Thunder He knew he could be when He called Him. He could be trusted with the secrets of the Kingdom. He would carry the message of hope from Heaven to Christ-followers across the Centuries ‘til its final fulfillment. John proved worthy of this trust. Obediently he wrote a thorough description of the Vision Christ gave him; the “Apocalypse,” the “Revelation.” He knew that to distribute it would further jeopardize his life. Courageously he found a way to circulate it regardless of the risk. He had become a man of such strength that Jesus could depend on him to carry out this colossal Mission. He was still John but he was different. He had been changed by the Spirit of Jesus. He’d been empowered by God Himself to live his life with character like that of Jesus, the Son of Man. The resemblance was unmistakable.

No matter what you’re called to. Regardless of how great the trust you’re given. You can, by simply embracing Christ as your Master, living every moment of your unique life in consultation with Him, become the person you were designed to be. You can actually bear the unmistakable resemblance of the Creator in whose image you were initially designed. You can, if you’ll love Him with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength come to reflect His character. Your life will begin to “make sense of human existence.”

The Vicarious Self 4.

If the symbolism of the first 6 words of John’s book about Jesus is not clear to his reader, the next 18 will be. He writes, “and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” This man, Jesus, “the Word,” and God are one and the same person to John. Moreover “Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made.” There is no doubt. John’s three years with Jesus and the years that followed in close company with the “Spirit of Truth,” convinced him that “the Christ,” “the Son of God” is the “Creator,” “God.”

The ramifications of this for people who believe it are amazing. The Creator, “the Lord God,” who “formed” our race “from the dust of the ground and breathed into” us the “breath of life,” making us “living beings,” is Himself living among us. More than that He will, if we’ll believe He is whom He claims to be, give us “Life.”

Apparently Creation is ongoing. We are of great value to God and He is here to make sure we understand this. He wants us to finally, fully experience the quality of “Life” for which we’re designed. He values us supremely. His “Life,” lived in our lives, demonstrates, like nothing else can, how valuable we are.

Dallas Willard, in a very important book, The Divine Conspiracy, writes about the necessity of our realizing this. We “must,” he writes, “at least be sure in (our) heart of hearts that (our) life must be a good thing … Saint Clare, won in her youth to a life of complete devotion to Jesus … had these for her last words: ‘Lord God, blessed be Thou for having created me!’ This should be the daily breath of every Follower of Jesus. … before her last words, she was heard to murmur to her soul, ‘Depart in peace … Go forth confidently to Him who has protected thee and loved thee as a mother loves her child.’ We will never have the easy, unhesitating love of God that makes obedience to Jesus our natural response unless we are absolutely sure that it is good for us to be, and to be who we are. This means we must have no doubt that the path appointed for us by when and where and to whom we were born is good, and that nothing irredeemable has happened to us or can happen to us on our way to our destiny in God’s full world.”

This is the confidence of the “Vicarious Self.”