But what is intriguing is the way she’ll talk about that sound. When teaching a line or a phrase, she’ll get the group to focus on its timing, its rhythm, its volume, its colour, its tone, its brightness or its warmth. The same note can be made to feel different depending on the way it’s given texture or shade.
It’s the same with reading scripture, particularly when we get to passages like John 1:1–14. This passage is by a writer who wants invoke feeling through the use of pictures and images. The Bible wasn’t written in English so we must go beyond our English words and get a feel for the shades, textures and tones that John is trying to convey. If we don’t, we might see something familiar, make an assumption about what it means and zoom past, missing the depth John wants us to experience.
Take the word ‘???’ which appears twice in verse four, and in about 124 other places in the New Testament. We pronounce this word ‘zoe’ and translate it as ‘life’. There are three images of what life means that come from John’s choice of ???.
The first is that life comes from God. It is God who created the universe and life. When he spoke, fish swam, birds flew, animals walked and breath was given to humans. He is the source of all life, of all that is animated and moving. Paul attests to this in Athens (Acts 17:26–28). In fact, though we are given eternal life, only God is immortal. This has an implication for us – life itself is a gift. What am I doing with this gift? Am I maximising it or wasting it? What does this mean for my work with children?
The second is that life belongs to God. When discussing the kingdom, we often talk not of ownership but of stewardship: that we are given the use of the world, our talents, gifts and abilities in trust. They don’t belong to us, they belong to the giver. This extends to our lives themselves, and a believer is someone who acknowledges this by submitting their life to the lordship of Jesus. 1 Corinthians 6:19–20 says: ‘You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your bodies.’ This opens up another truth for us. Jesus paid for us. How is this kind of ‘life’ evident in a children’s group or planning meeting?
We change the environments we are part of by being agents of the kingdom
The third image of life that John gives us by using this word is that it is life devoted to God – as Paul said we honour God with our bodies. They are our presence and where our actions are seen. What should be seen? Our worship of God, of choosing him, of thinking, feeling and doing like Jesus in each and every situation we find ourselves in. Again this has an implication for us. Life is transformative. For those of us who have accepted the lordship of Jesus, we should see the world differently and act accordingly as our hearts are conformed to be like his. Our lives are vigorous and proactive, in other words we change the environments we are part of by being living and breathing agents of the kingdom. Our devotion is shown in the choices we make.
??? life is a life that comes from God, belongs to God and is devoted to God. This was seen when the Word, Jesus, came to our world to live, die and rise again for our atonement, redemption, justification and reconciliation. To acknowledge that we come from God, belong to God and are devoted to God is to live counter-culturally to a world that seems to reward selfishness (Psalm 52). Yet while people pursue selfishness, many, if not most, aspire for a world that selflessness would create.
This is why John says that ??? is light for us all. Life that comes from God, belongs to God and is devoted to God stands out in a world of selfishness. It creates an environment, a kingdom, of life as it was, as it should be and as it will be again. The more of us who come together, to live as communities of ???, the brighter this light, this living example of life under the lordship of Jesus, will shine and point more people back to their father in heaven. Jesus calls us the light of the world, a city on a hill which cannot be hidden, a community of people who when they gather create a place where fearless ‘agape’ can be practiced, good words about that love can be spoken and where people give thanks to God that such things can be experienced.
Moreover, these should be the kind of communities we invite children to be part of – communities that live a life that comes from God, belongs to God and is devoted to God. This works out in different ways, depending on our contexts and children’s lives. But the centre of it remains – the call to experience and live this ??? life, from the youngest to the oldest.
Gordon Cheung is assistant pastor at St Silas’ Church, Glasgow
