In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

–John 1.1-5, 14, 16-18 (NIV)

Scripture reminds us constantly that no one can see God and live. How, then, can we ever hope to have a relationship with God if we have no hope of ever seeing (knowing) him? What is impossible for humans is not for God. Take today’s passage, for example.

In his magnificent prologue, John reminds us that Jesus is God become human and this immediately alerts us to the fact that all of a sudden the unknowable becomes knowable. While mortal and finite humans cannot possibly hope to comprehend the immortal, infinite, and eternal God, the good news is that God has shown mercy on us and condescended to our level so that we can get to know him. Want to see what earth is like when God comes to rule it? Look at Jesus’ life and ministry. Want to hear God’s truth? Listen to Jesus’ teachings. Want to find out how to live life the way God intends for you? Watch carefully Jesus’ interactions with all kinds of people. Want to find out how to deal with evil and sin? Watch Jesus in action, especially on Calvary. If Jesus really is God-become-human, then it makes perfect sense that he really is the only way to the Father because he gives us our only chance of really knowing God.

John reminds us too that the initiative for our relationship is from God, not us. We seek him because he sought us first. We love him because he loved us first, and this is primarily because God became human in Jesus and lived among us.

Can you not love a God who has done everything possible for you to get to know him and love him? Jesus is the culmination of God’s eternal rescue plan for humanity. He is God himself. Jesus provides us with concrete examples of how God intends for us to live. By his death we are rescued from our sins that perforce separate us from our holy God. And as the writer of Hebrews reminds us, even now we have our Risen and exalted Lord interceding for us. Jesus hasn’t gone to heaven to chill out or become meaningless in our lives. He has gone to heaven to assume is rightful place as Lord and ruler of the universe, and in doing so we are assured that he is for us, not against us, provided we accept his gracious invitation to life.

None of this, of course, makes us immune to the hurts and heartaches of life. But now everything is different because in Jesus we have a real chance to get to know God and his will for us. There is hope, purpose, and real meaning when we choose to follow Jesus because in doing so we are confident that we are following the very example of God himself. And as John reminds us today, despite darkness’ best attempt to quench the light, God’s light in Jesus will not be extinguished, which means for us a real hope that we will not be overcome by all that can go wrong in God’s fallen world.

If you are looking for real hope, meaning, and purpose for you life, here it is. His name is Jesus and he invites you to follow him.