John 1:3 part two

 The Gospel of John - Lesson Three

In Him was life, and that life was the light of men

It is not possible to exhaust all meaning from this verse, it seems to me as I dwell on it, it becomes richer and richer in meaning. "In Him was life".  Think about all at verse entails.  It's a great verse to meditate on and search the heart of God.  I am going to list some ideas that you may want to run with as you think about this verse and all it means.

1. Life was from Him who was with God.  Life stems from Him who was not created.  Life did not stem from that which was created.  An important point - life didn't evolve from the material world, it is a gift from the creator.  Whether you look at this as biological life, or a deeper richer eternal life/spiritual life you must understand one thing - its origin is not material, its origin comes from the heart of the creator.
2. This life came to us from a Person.  We miss this, we all miss this.  IN HIM WAS LIFE, it was in the person of Jesus Christ that life originated.  This gives us insight into what biblical life and spirituality is.  Spiritual life rests in a person - it is personal, and relational.  It is not a force, or a principle of science, it is not a series of steps, it is not an equation, a law, or a set of rules.  Spiritual life is intensely personal in nature and relational in context.  Is fasting spiritual?  It might not be according to this verse.  How about giving someone a cup of water?  According to this verse it is.  Helping others to understand the life of God and helping them see the light is a very spiritual thing.  Marriage, by its very nature is spiritual.  Friendship is spiritual.  Celebrating birthdays, helping the elderly, eating dinner with a friend...all of these hint at the root of spirituality. 
3. Based on point 2 - not all things that we call spiritual, or spiritual life are in fact spiritual.  If you look around you our daily life is full of people who want to be spiritual.  They will claim that this or that is a spiritual thing.  They will claim this is the path to spiritual living, or that is.  If you compare religions you will find certain  practices which are common to all 'worshippers'.  Here is some insight...not all practices which claim to be spiritual are spiritual, not all leaders who claim to be spiritual leaders are spiritual leaders, not everything we call spiritual is spiritual.  The object of spiritual life is to make us people like Christ.  It will be to cause us to imitate Christ.  To be like him in relation to all around us.  Many have been lead astray at this point.  Many have followed a form of spiritual life that is not centered in the person of Jesus Christ.  When we fall for that pseudo-spiritual life, we are not becoming more spiritual in the truest sense of the word.  Here is a question to ask yourself - if I do this, will it help me love people the way that Jesus loved people?  Great question and it will help us root out those false practices which make us feel holy, but make us act carnal.
4. Spiritual life is light - it guides our way and illuminates everything around us.  It reveals what is true and real, and also what is false and temporary.  It lights the way before us and draws us deeper into the Wisdom of the Logos...the ways of Jesus.  The Greek word for "WORD" from verse 1 is LOGOS.  The word Logos can point us to the written Word of God, it can point us to the Wisdom of God, it can point so many places.  There is a verse in Luke which points us to this "And Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature with God".  Spiritual life and Wisdome are synonymous with each other.  Show me a man that is close to living like Jesus and I will show you a man that is rich in Godly wisdom.  If Jesus had to grow in wisdom, so do we.  We grow in our ability to look at the Word of God and apply it to life, in a way which points men to the greatness of God.  In a way which unite men in the Unity of the Spirit.  It's a life of humility and sacrifice.  Do you seek wisdom?  I am not talking about wisdom regarding how to fish, or programme, or do budgets - wisdom in knowing how to walk as Jesus walked, how to love like Jesus loved. 

Do not be fooled by false imitations of spiritual life, there is life found in no other than the Word of God, the Logos, the Christ.  Begin this life of illumination by asking Jesus to guide you, pray that Jesus would come into your heart and begin to illuminate the darkness.   "Lord Jesus, I want to know true life, I want to know the life that begins in You.  Fill my life with that life, give me Your life, and with it begin to be my light.  Reveal to me ways in which I can be more like you, and from my life drive the darkness away.  Help me to understand you better, and your ways. Amen"