John 1:14
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Yesterday we saw that Jesus wasn't afraid to go there, both conversationally and locationally, in spite of cultural taboos. His stated purpose was to call sinners to his kingdom and to seek and save the lost. To accomplish this purpose he had to go to where they were.
Now the beauty of the incarnation and Jesus' ministry is that he didn't just pop in for a quick "visit". He came and dwelt among us. He pitched his tent here. The tent, tabernacle, implies a combo of transience and permanence. Jesus, as God incarnate, lived among us for 33 years. He ate and drank with his disciples. He went to weddings. He developed friendships. He had family. He wept at the death of his friend. He did all the things that are typical of the human experience in community.
It was in the "dwelling" among us that he discipled his followers. Many of the most memorable teaching moments of his life and ministry were found in the most common of daily occurrences. Think of his healing a blind beggar, his teaching on the poor widow's giving, his breaking up the dispute between the sons of Zebadee and the other disciples, his escapes for prayer. All of these were in the normal rhythms of life. These moments happened because he was there with the disciples and the disciples were there with him.
I love John's description before Jesus heals the blind man in John 9.
John 9:1
1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth.
It is because of Jesus' being with them that John can write at the beginning of his first epistle:
1 John 1:1
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.
Don't ever underestimate the power of simply being there. You don't have to have it all figured out. You don't have to be the smartest person in the room to teach others, but you must be there. You don't have to attend an event expecting God to do something amazing for him to show up. You don't have to know exactly what to say or do to fix someone's situation in order to be a blessing to them. But you must be there!
Additional Content
Alan Hirsch on the definition of incarnational
Reflection
Where are you "putting down roots"? Where do you tend to hang out? Who are you investing in in those locations? What advantages and disadvantages does your current location of living present for accomplishing the mission of Jesus? What can you do to live in those advantages? What changes can you make to minimize the disadvantages?