John 1:1-13
I first wrote about these verses in the devotion this past Advent, remarking on the depth of meaning of the term “logos” that is so central to this passage. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
But here and now, on this first day of spring, in the season of Lent—which itself means “spring”—the very day that marks day growing longer than night, I am struck more by the verses in this passage that have to do with light. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. . . The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.”
During Advent, this last sentence might refer to the coming of the infant Jesus. Now that it’s Lent, it feels like John is describing the darkness of the human condition before Jesus died for us only to rise again in glory at Easter. “He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.” What darkness is our ignorance!
We did not know Jesus until he died for us, but when he did, true light entered our world. And that light—light out of darkness, life out of death—means regeneration, nourishment, and flourishing for our spiritual selves. As the natural light grows around us this season, so does the spiritual light within us.
Eric Johnson