John's prologue is heard often around Christmas, but it speaks to us year round—its superb poetry reminding us, in terms that spoke to Jews and Gentiles alike, that Jesus was God’s ultimate word. And though John used a lot of literary skill, he was not being theologically original in this passage. Instead, he was following the lead of Jesus himself, who told a spiritually hungry crowd, “The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”
• In what ways have the words of Jesus functioned in your life as “what is useful for building up,” and as words that “give grace” to you as you hear them? What role have Jesus’ words played in reshaping you from the inside out, so that the words of your mouth and the meditation of your heart become ever more acceptable to God, your rock and your redeemer? How can you more closely connect with Jesus’ words in the weeks and months ahead, to draw even more spirit and life from them?