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The Super Understander
Devotional for Friday, January 16, 1998 by Reigh Eldridge
John 1:1,14 - In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.Today I listened to a professional in the health care field talking about people with Alzheimers disease. She emphasized how necessary it is for people to understand what is going on in the mind of the patient. She talked about how threatened they feel, how frustrated and detached they are because they cannot plug into the totality of what is happening. Their ego is under attack and because of this they often are perceived to be hostile. She explained how necessary it is for those around them to understand what is going on, to relate, to encourage rather than question, to learn to come alongside.
A short time before this I was reading the first chapter of John's gospel and it struck me how necessary it was for John to relate to the Greek way of thinking if he was going to influence them with the gospel. John had that wonderful talent of understanding how to relate to people in the circumstances in which he found them, to come alongside them. He wanted to tell the Greeks about Christ but he knew they would not relate to the Hebrew background of the church, to words like "messiah", "redeemer", and "Son of God". He also knew that their word "logos" stood for ultimate reality, absolute reason, truth, and the reality of God as they understood Him. When John said, "In the beginning was Logos", they connected right away. "And Logos was God and Logos became flesh and dwelt among us". They were able to grasp the concept of who Christ was.
To me this is a dramatic example of the inspiration of scripture that has few equals. It is an example and an encouragement for us as Christians to come alongside and empathize with people just where they are.
Prayer: Lord help me to love and help people with no strings attached so that they may recognize the love of Christ. Amen.
Reigh Eldridge <rmeld@nbnet.nb.ca>
Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
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Today's Music:
Beloved, Let Us Love One Another.