Who Do You Say? Reading With the People of God #19Sample

Jesus Chose To Come Near

There’s a verse in Job 28 that has always got my attention: “The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.” (Job 28:28 NIV)

Job had lost everything, and yet he realized something profound: real wisdom isn’t found in having the answers, it’s found in revering God and trusting Him when we don’t have the answers. That hits close to home for me as a husband and dad. There are moments when I want to fix every problem, protect my family from every hurt, or provide every answer. But there are times when I can’t, and it’s in those moments I’m reminded that my greatest gift to my family isn’t my strength or my solutions, but my surrender to God’s wisdom.

Then I read John 1:14 NIV, and it brings it all full circle: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” The same God whose wisdom Job marveled at didn’t stay distant. He came near. He dwelt among us. Or as Eugene H. Peterson says in The Message Version of the Bible: "He moved into the neighborhood." He entered the mess and mystery of human life, family life included. Think about that: Jesus grew up in a home. He had parents who taught Him, chores to do, friends to play with. The all-powerful Word of God lived in the ordinary rhythms of a household. That’s what Advent reminds me of every year. It’s not just about waiting for Christmas, it’s about remembering that God is present in the ordinary. He’s there in the late-night talks with your spouse, in the noise of the kids running through the house, in the prayers whispered over the dinner table, and even in the quiet worries you carry for your family. And for the one who feels alone in this season, whose house is quieter than they wish, or whose heart aches for connection Advent whispers the same truth: God has come near to you, too. He meets you in the stillness, in the longing, and in the quiet moments when His presence is the only sound that fills the room. God’s wisdom isn’t far off in the heavens; it comes close and meets us in the everyday. And that’s our calling too as fathers and husbands, wives and mothers, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters to show up, to stay near, to live present. Just as Christ chose to come near to us.

Primer contributed by Pastor Jonathan Knapp, Cornerstone Community Church Chowchilla