Day 14

August 20

Karen Rodgers

John 1:14 NIV

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

When thinking about connecting to people, in our lives, Christ gives the greatest example of connecting in this verse. There was a gap between humanity and heaven. A gap so large, that we could never close it on our own. When He (The Word) became flesh and dwelt among us, His intent and purpose was to close this gap. Before Him, connecting to God involved blood sacrifices on altars, going to a priest, and following laws laid out in the Old Testament. God knew the only way to bridge that gap was to send Jesus to us, to dwell among us and to die for us. Jesus becoming flesh and paying the ultimate price for our freedom with his life, was the greatest connection ever known. Jesus lived as a human, had friends and family, and developed relationships. He connected with people in His life in such a way that Christianity spread through the entire world! His example of community with His disciples and the people He connected with while on earth, is a perfect model of how we are to connect with people in our lives. Christ was full of grace and truth, not to keep to Himself, but to share with us. We in turn are to share this with others. Encountering Christ should be life changing for us. Shouldn’t that also mean when we encounter others, those moments should also be life changing? 

I have made two friends in the last few months, simply by being “present in the moment”. While I was mountain biking, I noticed a lady looking at directions on her phone. I asked if she was good with the trail, and she said she was a little turned around. I took her on a tour of my favorite route. We exchanged numbers and have ridden together since then, with plans for more adventures. Another time, I was waiting for an oil change. I planned to sit in the lobby, put headphones in to look occupied and write this devotional. Then I realized I was planning to write a devotional on connection, by disconnecting! So, I did not put the headphones in, and instead I made another friend with someone who was new to the area. We exchanged numbers and have connected again since that encounter. I think the times we seek to connect to others, like Christ demonstrated for us, are the times we are honoring His example with our lives.

Prayer: Father, may we always seek to live in grace and truth. Help us to dwell among the people we interact with daily and seek to connect our lives to others, as you sought to connect with us, by sending Jesus to us.

Be the ultimate connection of grace and truth, Amen.