Basics of Life ...

Monday, July 15, 2019. The beginning of the gospel of John is one of the most prominent and very fascinating texts of the bible. It is about Jesus, who is also called the word. The gospel introduces its main topic in its first verses, telling us what is important and why.

Beginning …

The biblical story is about life as a whole. It is about creation. It is about humans. It is about insight and the principles which govern our actions. Thus it is also about conscience, about reason, about emotions, about decisions.

Let us read the beginning of the gospel of John. Look into the original, the biblical text, full of images, full of insight and wisdom, full of power:

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (from John 1)

Let us briefly explore the text here, the various dimensions of life which are touched by this biblical lines.

First, it talks about the beginning. This is not about the beginning of time alone, about the big bang or the development of our physical world in the first nano seconds. It is about what was before, about creation before it started, then about the creation of the physical world itself. The laws which govern the world, all the energy and matter and space constituting the world … all that is created. All things were made through him - through the word. Nothing was made without him. Christ Jesus – the word – is the beginning of all what is. The claim formulated in the gospel of John could not be reaching further into the origin of creation!

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(Roland Potthast) ... further texts