14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1v14)
In the year 1800, there lived a girl in a small Welsh village named Mary Jones. She attended church faithfully with her parents, but couldn't make sense of the ‘squiggles’ on the pages of the church bibles.
On Sunday mornings, Mary dressed in her Sunday best, would walk to the little chapel in the village two miles away. At the front, the minister would open a large, black, leather-bound book. As he began to read, Mary would marvel at the wonderful words and store them up in her heart.
After the service, she would go cautiously up to look at the impressive book. There were two words printed in gold on its cover. Mary guessed that they said ‘Holy Bible’ because she had heard the minister mention the name of the book. The words inside looked odd to her. ‘How can anyone ever make sense of these squiggles?’ she thought. ‘Oh, how I wish I could read this book for myself, or even have one for my own!’
Then, on Sunday morning, the minister announced that a school was to open in the village. Mary was excited. ‘Now I can learn to read,’ she said, ‘and make sense of those strange marks in the book at chapel.’
Months passed and seasons changed, until at last Mary was asked to read from the chapel Bible one Sunday morning. She was not very tall, so a special wooden box was brought for her to stand on so that she could see the words properly. Now the squiggles were no longer strange to her.
After reading the bible in service, Mary wished with all her heart to have a bible of her own. But in those days bibles were very expensive and unobtainable for most, especially to a young girl of 10 years of age. So she determined in her heart to save her money and buy one of her own, no matter how long it took or how much work was involved.
So she set about saving every penny until she had enough money to buy a bible which she achieved 6 years later, at the age of 16. She heard about a man in a nearby town that was selling bibles and resolved to travel there to purchase one. In order to get to this town, she had to travel a distance of 40kms by foot - but that did not deter her, for so great was her love of God’s word, that she must have a bible for herself.
So she set off on foot, bread and cheese in her bundle and reached the home of Mr Charles after a long arduous journey. Mary told Mr Charles everything. He was moved by her account. And he held out to her a brand new Bible. Mary stared at it for a long moment before taking it with both hands. Then she expressed her heartfelt thanks.
The next morning, Mary, clutching her treasured possession, said goodbye to Mr Charles and started on her way home. She arrived to a grand reception. It seemed as if everyone was there. Her mother threw her arms around her and hugged her. Everyone was cheering and wanted Mary to show them her Bible. As she held the book up for all to see, she murmured a few quiet words. ‘Thank you, Jesus, thank you Mr Charles,’ she said.
In his study, Mr Charles remembered how the young girl had disappeared over the brow of a hill still holding the new Bible to her chest. He began to think of all the other Mary Joneses who must be wanting Bibles, not only in Wales but in England, Scotland, Ireland, and even in other more distant lands. In 1804, the British and Foreign Bible Society was formed by Thomas Charles and other men in response to needs which stories like that of Mary Jones had brought to light.
At this time of year, we often think and ponder on the miracle that is the birth of Jesus. However, in the gospel of John, he begins with introducing Jesus, not as the baby born in Bethlehem but he introduces Jesus to us as ‘the Word’. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1v1-14)
The title of ‘Word’ that is ascribed to Jesus can sound confusing at first, how is Jesus a word or the word, how can a person be a word? Father God is a great communicator. In creation he SPOKE the world into existence and by his WORDS the worlds were framed. When God walked with Adam and Eve his relationship with them was through words, he walked and TALKED with them in the garden. 9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” (Genesis 3v9-10)
Throughout the bible we see this pattern of God communicating to mankind through spoken word, sometimes directly, sometimes through Messengers such as Angels and through the Prophets - and one time, even a donkey!
But God decided to send the ultimate message to his people through his Son Jesus. In essence, Jesus is called the Word because HE IS the Message. Perfect and sinless, unadulterated by the world, Jesus is the full expression of God’s message to the world. Jesus said, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father”.
When we look at the life of Jesus we see the thoughts, the intentions and the heart of Father God towards us.
What a great miracle it is to celebrate each year at Christmas, that the Word himself, Jesus Christ became flesh. That when we look at the life of Jesus, we can see what the Father is like, and when we read his Word, we come to know him more and more. In the words of C H Spurgeon: ‘It was God’s word that made us; is it any wonder that His Word should sustain us?’.
I think back to the time between the words of Malachi the prophet until the words of Jesus - 400 years the people went without hearing a word from God. I think of the dark ages where the very words of God were hidden and kept from the people so only the few and privileged might know of his word; and I think of 10 year old Mary Jones who so desperately wanted a bible so she could read the very words written by God.
I think of these times and I feel convicted, convicted that we so freely have the word of God at our fingertips - on our phones at the click of a button, in our drawers and on our bookshelves and yet we treat God’s word with contempt, with a take it or leave it attitude, without fully understanding the value of what we hold in our hands.
Father God is still the great Communicator and more than ever he wants to speak into our lives through his word - the preached word of God, the written word of God and through Jesus himself. I encourage you this Christmas to receive the gift that God has given you - Jesus Christ the Word of God and treasure it like never before. Make a fresh commitment to be women of the Word - a daily commitment to rely on his strength, his words, his spirit - ‘for Your words, they are spirit and they are life’.