December 5: Son of God
“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.”
Take a moment to consider this verse. Read it back again slowly. This is a deeply beautiful verse drenched with the themes of Christmas. Look at what it points us towards: (1) the coming of the Son of God, (2) that he came to give us understanding and that (3) we might know him who is true. But John doesn’t stop there, because he goes on to say that we Christians are (4) in him who is true! And this Jesus is both the (5) true God and (6) eternal life.
But what does it mean exactly that Jesus is the Son of God? We will say just two things here. Firstly: Jesus is God. The title here points to his divinity. He is no high-ranking angel or a powerful created being. He is truly man and truly God. The second thing this title points us to is his special relationship to God the Father. He is the unique one, and different to the Father. Herein lies the mystery of the Trinity: that Father is not the Son and the Son is not the Father, and yet the Father and the Son are not two Gods, but of one divine essence. Yes, you might need to take a Panadol and have a lie down as you ponder that statement.
And the Son of God came. John 1:12 says “to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God”. Here the mystery of the Trinity gets deeper. He is adopting other sons and daughters to be part of his family. And his adoption is open to all who receive Christ; to all who believe in his name he gives the right to become his family. What a treasure we have! May we say with Saint Aloysius Gonzaga that “it is better to be a child of God than king of the whole world.” Have you received the Son of God and become a son or daughter of God yourself? You can!
Praise Him!