April 30, 2006 [Easter 3] 1 John 1:1-4 J.D.Roekle

Dear Friends in Christ,

Get a Life. Many people take that expression to heart. A couple with a growing family, living in an apartment, struggling to make ends meet, dream of getting a life. They dream of the days when they hope to own their own home with a spacious yard. That’s the life, they think to themselves.

There is a young boy growing up in the inner city of a large city who wants to get a life. He dreams of playing basketball for a major university and then in the pros so that he can sign a multi-million dollar contract. That’s the life he says to himself.

A family lives in a war-torn country where soldiers walk the streets. There are constant threats of being bombed or shot. The family hopes they are able to get a life… a different life. A life where there is no war or threat of violence. That’s the life they think.

How about your hopes and dreams of getting a life? Maybe you are hoping for a life different than you have now. Maybe you are simply hoping your situation improves with whatever difficulties you have now.

Even if conditions never get better; even if your situation never improves; you still are guaranteed the good life when you are attached to Christ the LIFE. When we are attached to him, we can say "THIS IS THE LIFE". Today we will see that this is the LIFE that is revealed to us; and that this is the LIFE that is proclaimed by us.

In verse 2 of our text, John states: "The life appeared." It is clear from the words surrounding it that this is a clear reference to Christ. Why would John make such a reference to Christ?

To understand that you need to understand the context in which this letter was written. John recognized that the faith of believers was under assault by a movement call Gnosticism. False teachers denied that Christ was truly human. They said that Christ actually joined the human being Jesus at the tie of his baptism. And this heavenly Christ left Jesus’ body sometime before Jesus died.

Part of John’s purpose in writing this letter is to refute this error. He wanted to reinforce the truth to his readers… the truth that Jesus Christ was true God and true man throughout his stay on earth, and that Jesus’ human and divine natures are inseparable… they are both a part of who Jesus Christ is.

So Jesus Christ is the life that is revealed to us. John says: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. ^2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us."

Jesus is also referred to here as the Word of life. In the first chapter of John’s Gospel, Jesus is called the Word. The Word is a neat picture of who Jesus is… the one sent by God to reveal who God is. Jesus is the Word in person.

Jesus is the Word of life. This life came from the beginning of time. This life existed from eternity. Before creation, this life was with the Father in heaven. And this life will continue to exist forever.

This life was revealed to human eyes when he took on flesh in that Bethlehem stable. It was here that he took on human life unlike any other, because he lived a perfect life. This life was finally persecuted: he suffered and finally his life even ended. But this life could not be extinguished. This life came back to life on the 3^rd day.

He did all this in order to redeem life, yours and mine from the terrors of sin and hell. In his death and resurrection, this life guaranteed life for us. Eternal life. Life after death. Life in heaven with Jesus Christ who is the life.

Sound too good to be true? John can back up his words about this life he speaks of. After all, John has much personal evidence. John saw Jesus Christ the life with his very own eyes. He talked with him face to face. He witnessed his miracles. He received his body and blood from Christ himself as Holy Communion was celebrated for the first time. He witnessed his cruel crucifixion. On Easter morning John entered Jesus’ tomb and saw the strips of cloth lying in the otherwise empty grave. John saw this life appear to the twelve on 2 different occasions behind locked doors. John’s eyes, ears, mouth, and hands told him that this life was for real.

We all long for relationships. It Is great to have a spouse. Children. Parents. Brothers or sisters. Friends. Neighbors. It is great to have others that we can see; touch; talk to; laugh and cry with.

How precious, then, is our relationship with Christ the life, who provides us with life. The one with whom we will see face to face one day.

Thanks to Jesus, each one of us can say "I have a life!" And out of thanks to Jesus, we want to proclaim the good news about him.

In each of the first two verses, John used the word proclaim. In the next verse he uses it again: "We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ."

As eyewitnesses of Jesus, John and his fellow apostles had the privilege and responsibility to tell all the marvelous words that Christ spoke to them, and to tell about all the meaningful things that this life did.

Why tell others about this life? So that their listeners could have fellowship with them.

The word for fellowship here has the idea of being "partners". When you are a partner with someone, you have something in common… you go to school together; you work together; you own a plot of land together; you have a common interest.

The kind of "partners" John is speaking of here are "PARTNERS IN THE GOSPEL." He wanted to spread this news about Jesus the life so that they would have him in common!

Why is this partnership so important to John and all believers? "We write this to make our joy complete."

What could make John and the other apostles happier than to know that others have heard and believed the message about Jesus Christ the life, so that they now have something in common with their listeners. A common Father. And a common life in Christ the life.

Through the Holy Spirit’s work we have something in common with the apostles. We have faith in Christ. We are partnered up with the apostles and countless believers throughout the ages and today who continue to proclaim the good news about Christ.

There are plenty of people out there who don’t know about the life that Christ provides. You may know them pretty well. Maybe you live with such a person. Or next to one. Perhaps you work with one. Maybe you are a longtime friend of such a person. You may just be an acquaintance of one who needs the life Christ provides.

Have you proclaimed the truth to that person? If you haven’t or you have stopped trying, what’s keeping you from telling them about Jesus? Are you thinking: "I don’t want to pressure them" or "I don’t know what to say" or "I don’t know how they are going to react to me" or "I don’t like to talk about religion with people."

Wipe away the excuses with the realization that nothing could make you happier than to see that person in heaven with you one day. What could possibly make us happier than to have faith in Jesus Christ in common with that person?!

Yes, you and I experience our share of difficulties. But when we look realistically about our situation, we can shout "This is the life!" This is the life, because Jesus Christ the life has been revealed to us, so that we can live to proclaim him to others. May we be moved and motivated by the gracious love of our Lord to do just that! Amen.