Day 22: The Christ

"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God -- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God."  John 1:12-13

Main Character:  John the Apostle
Scripture:  John 1:1-18
Symbol:  Candle

Have you ever made bread from scratch?  If so, you know how rewarding it is to take that first bite of a loaf hot out of the oven.  For those of you that have never had the opportunity or desire, let's take a moment to look at what goes into the process.

First, you must proof the yeast which consists of adding water at the perfect temperature to the dry yeast with a sprinkle of sugar until it literally starts to puff up in the measuring cup.  Water that is too hot will kill the yeast, and water that is too cold will cause it to remain dormant.  The yeast is the most crucial ingredient as it causes the bread to rise and take shape.

After you mix the yeast with flour and other ingredients, you must knead the dough for a good 10 minutes.  Hopefully, you have been going to the gym because this is quite a workout.  The dough will then need to rest covered in a warm place for the next 2 hours.  Once it doubles in volume, you have to punch it down and let it rest again.  Some recipes call for several rounds for rising, punching, and resting.  The dough is formed, brushed with butter, egg, or milk, and then bakes for an hour or more.  It takes close to a whole day to get the perfect bite.

Compare all the work that went into making this bread with the work of creation.  Think of all the planning, calculating, and dreaming that went into God's creation story.  If one little thing had been off, the world we know would not exist.  I believe that while God was creating our universe, He knew that the pinnacle of his creation, man, would make the choice to mess things up.  We know from our lesson on Adam and Eve that their lust for power and stature with God caused them to be eternally separated.  We have also seen how their decision has rocked the rest of history.  How would you feel if your day's work at bread making was ruined because one of your eggs was bad?

Now, we come to our passage out of the book of John today.  John's writings are much more philosophical than the other gospel writers which can make them harder to understand.  But verse fourteen sums everything up - "...he gave them the right to become children of God."  Today is the day to reflect on God's foreknowledge and His reaction to our sin.  He did not ignore the inevitable, but instead created a plan to be carried out through history leading us to Christ.  Christ came to restore order, and it is up to us to accept this best gift of all.

Ponder Points:

• Think about all the other planets in our solar system.  As far as we know, none of them are inhabitable for one reason or another - too hot, too cold, not the right atmosphere.  Do you think that our earth is perfect for life on purpose or by coincidence?
• Have you ever made a plan that fell through?  What was your reaction?  Show your children that although God had a plan, he also made a back up plan and stuck with it.  Things were harder, but He still came through.
• If you children are old enough to understand and articulate the feeling of disappointment, discuss how God must have felt at the time of the first sin.  How do they show their disappointment when things go wrong?
• Most of us react poorly to disappointment.  Point out that God reacted by creating another way for us to eventually dwell with him through Christ. 
• You can also discuss how Jesus was not viewed by all as the Messiah.  He is continually rejected by people reacting poorly to disappointment in their lives.  Do you know someone who rejects Christ?  How can you set a good example for them?