24. …full of grace and truth.

Truth is an important word in John’s Gospel. “You will know the truth and the truth will make you free,” says Jesus (John 8.32) Truth, in John’s Gospel, doesn’t mean the opposite of lying, or an accurate description of things. It also means “faithfulness”.  In this context it reminds us of God’s faithfulness to us. The Bible tells a story of God’s unending love. No matter how people fail and fall, he never gives up on them. Although the book of Genesis describes Adam and Eve being driven out of the Garden of Eden into a world where life is often hard, (Genesis 3.23), we soon discover that God seems to have gone out into that world with them. He makes himself known to Noah, warning him of the flood (Genesis 6). He calls Abraham to go to a new land and make a new life there (Genesis 12). He turns up in the shape of three strangers who tell Abraham that he will have a child, (Genesis 18) and later in a burning bush from which he calls Moses to lead his people out of slavery in Egypt (Exodus 3). The story goes on. Prophets hear God speak to them. People find him in the words of scripture, in their worship in the Temple, in the depths of their own hearts, ready to forgive and to heal as many times as they need it. God is faithful – true – to them, no matter what they do. Christians believe that in the vulnerability of the child born in Bethlehem, we see this faithfulness taken to its extreme. God not only speaks in words, but through the Word who lives, dies and is raised among us. And he is a Word of grace, an unearned, unmerited gift, given to all.

REFLECTION POINTS
• As you prepare for the gift-giving and receiving of Christmas Day, think about what the gift of Jesus might mean to you?
• Who has shown you faithful love in your life?
• What truth might you need to discover  in order to be made free?

ALL AGE IDEA
• Jesus is God’s gift to us. Make a gift tag to put on a present for someone you love. Draw a picture of Baby Jesus on it.