January 3, 2023
Harmony in Relationship
“… the Word was God” John 1:1 (NASB)
When I first got married some 40 years ago, I just knew my wife and I were in perfect harmony. Who wouldn’t think that about our spouses when we first got married? After the first few months of living together in a crowded small apartment in a foreign country, we both discovered we were two different people. Those early years brought about some very interesting and challenging discussions for sure. Today, we have learned a lot about each other and have made our relationship more harmonious, but it took time. For God, His relationship with Jesus Christ living in harmony is a concept that has always been. There was only one time that they weren’t. This was when Jesus was on the cross.
When John said, “the Word was God” he was telling us that Jesus has all the same attributes as deity (or the nature of God). Jesus is fully God. When Jesus came to this earth in His incarnation, He did not cease to be God. He took on the appearance of mankind, but only refrained from some attributes of deity. This meant He could live here among mankind and go through a daily life, being exposed to a fallen world. Colossians 2:9 tell us “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,”[1] He could do all this and yet not sin, because He is God. One thing is marked in the life of Jesus though. It is the consistent fellowship with His Father. Harmony. Throughout Scripture we find Jesus getting up early in the morning and spending time with His Father in prayer. He might have been separated physically from His Father in Heaven, but He wasn’t disconnected with God. He who is God cannot be separated from Himself.
I find that the more time I spend with my spouse, the more I get to know her because I spend the time with her. Many times, we take cruises to differing destinations and don’t have any connection to the outside world and have unbridled time. This gives us time with each other to talk and reconnect. I love these times because it is just, she and I. Harmonious. This is that same type of relationship Jesus had with His Father-unbridled and harmonious.
The same type of harmonious relationship with God is available in the Christian life. We can have unbridled time with Christ each day, through the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. It is available. Today do you choose a good relationship as God does with His Son? Is there something that is holding you from doing so if not? I would encourage you to be in harmony with Him today. When you do, you will find strength and peace during all the tough times of life ahead.
[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Col 2:9.