The Chosen One of God

“I have both seen and testified that this man is the Chosen One of God.” –John 1:34

Whether you’re intimately familiar or new to the story of Jesus, we can learn a lot from the account of John. 

Both declarations in today’s Scripture are important:

1. I have seen Him. 

Stop and ask yourself, have you seen Jesus? Even John admits that he didn’t recognize Jesus at first (John 1:32–33). We have never had the opportunity to gaze on Jesus’ face, and my mental image is highly influenced by the illustrations and movie portrayals I’ve seen. But more than His face, do you know His character? Do you recognize His presence? Have you seen the work of His hands? 

For example, our third daughter was born with a small bowel malrotation (unknown at the time) which led to a midgut volvulus and complete bowel obstruction in her first days of life. The summary: She was sick. Really sick. She could have died. In those moments of handing off our newborn for emergency surgery, and in the days that followed, Christ was undeniably there with us. The peace of His presence was palpable. The work of His hands was undeniable—from the team chosen for the actual surgery to the specific ICU nurses who cared for us all. Those days were hard, but we saw God with more clarity than we had before. 

2. I have testified. 

Once we have seen Jesus, once we know Him, we are called to tell others about Him. We can never do this enough, and sometimes I wince over the glaring missed opportunities in my life. Testifying can be viewed on a worldwide scale, and certainly untold numbers of missionaries have spent their lives trying to evangelize to all the people groups on the globe. When I think about it like this, the enormity of the need and the feeling of inadequacy about my own Bible knowledge leave me feeling anxious and paralyzed. So, on a day to day basis, I look at it like this instead: your mission field is wherever you spend your days. With your children. At your job. Within your community. When given the opportunity to share the goodness and the truth of the gospel, do it. Live for Jesus as best you can, and your life will do a lot of the evangelizing for you. You have to be authentic, but you don’t have to know all the answers.

Jesus is the Chosen One of God. We’ll continue to study and see the proof of that in the days to come, but let’s follow John’s lead in seeing and sharing the truth of Jesus. 

Jesus is the Son of God and the only way to eternal life. If you don’t know Him, please stay with us as we study the book of John and deeply explore the Bible’s descriptions and truths.