Pastor Bell's Words To Live By

The apostle John started following Jesus as a young boy probably around the age of 15. We glean this from some of the reports in the gospels (see Matthew 17:24-27), where Jesus and Peter pay the temple tax but the other disciples does not. This is because in Jewish custom and culture you were not a man until you were 30 years old or above. As a boy disciple, he was allowed to follow Jesus because his mother was part of Jesus’ support network and so he tagged along. We can assume that his father had also assented to this because he had allowed his wife to cook and clean for Jesus. So John grew up seeing firsthand the power of God move in is community with miracles as an everyday occurrence.

When John had time to reflect and to write of his experiences, he writes about the man Jesus and portrays him as being fully man and fully God at the same time. So John say things like: “in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God” St. John 1:1. And “the word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory of the father’s only son full of grace and truth.” V.14.

In John’s time like today, everyone is looking for something to meet their felt and perceived needs, however these needs cannot be met and satiated until the spiritual hole that exists in all humanity is plugged.  And it can only be plugged by being reconciled to God through our Lord Jesus Christ. As a seeker John the beloved found Jesus as a young boy, followed him and left a legacy that has stood the test of time. Do you want to leave a lasting legacy? Find the holy one of God and follow and love him with all your heart soul and mind.

From his initial encounter with Jesus, John was a transformed individual. Read his initial account in St John chapter 1.