Read John 1:14-28
I've had the privilege of discovering inspirational thoughts from some of the brightest minds in theology over the past several months. Today is no different. The author with extraordinary insight I’d like to quote today is none other than... Dr. Seuss. So sit back, relax, and enjoy just a part of this children's literary masterpiece, On Beyond Zebra, which is surprisingly theologically correct:
Said Conrad Cornelius O'Donnell O'Dell, my very young friend who was learning to spell, ‘The A is for Ape, the B is for Bear, the C is for Camel, the H is for Hair, the M is for Mouse, the R is for Rat... I know all twenty-six letters like that. Through to Z is for Zebra, I know them all well,’ said Conrad Cornelius O'Donnell O'Dell. ‘Now I know everything anyone knows – from beginning to end – from the start to the close – because Z is as far as the alphabet goes.’
Then he almost fell flat on his face on the floor when I picked up the chalk and drew one letter more. A letter he had never dreamed of before. And I said, ‘You can stop if you want with the Z, and most people stop with the Z, but not me. In the places I go, there are things that I see that I never could spell if I stopped with a Z. I'm telling you this 'cause you're one of my friends, my alphabet starts where your alphabet ends. So on beyond Z, it’s high time you were shown that you really don't know all there is to be known.’”
And there, the ever-popular children's author, Dr. Seuss, sets the stage perfectly for today's reading... the divine revelation of God's new alphabet.
It’s in the first chapter of John’s book that he beautifully reveals the depth of God's love through the incarnation of the Son.
No one has ever seen God. But His only Son, Who is Himself God, is near to the Father's heart; He has told us about Him. John 1:18
Jesus, Holy Son of God, physically revealed the Father for the first time in history. And with this incredible revelation came God's new covenant for mankind. John said it himself, in verse 17.
For the law was given through Moses; God's unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. John 1:17
Jesus was the revelation to us of God's unfailing love and faithfulness. With the incarnation of Jesus, God added a new meaning to our dictionary, a new letter to our alphabet. Because of God with us, we now know the meaning of grace.
Why did He do this? Why did God come to earth in human form and enlarge our alphabet with a personal visitation? Maybe because He knew without that letter, we could never spell redemption… justification… forgiveness.
And so, the next time you think you’ve got life all figured out and eternal hope is not a part of the equation, let me leave you with this paraphrase of the immortal words of Dr. Seuss…
“I’m telling you this ‘cause you’re one of my friends, GOD’s alphabet starts where your alphabet ends. So on beyond Z, it’s high time you were shown that you really don’t know all there is to be known.”
