That which was from the beginning

It may seem like a strange thing, but I was hiding one day this week at Burger King - trying to find a few minutes to study without the phone ringing or some emergency arising to tear me away from the Word. You can buy a soda there and refill it as many times as you like. I had my notepad, a pen, my IPOD with the Bible on it.....and a bottomless diet coke. Now Burger King may not seem like a place to get a new revelation of Jesus; nevertheless as I sat there reading and re-reading the first chapter of I John these words: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have handled, of the Word of Life. For the Life was manifested and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested unto us." I was moved with some powerful images which I think I should share with my friends about these words from that exiled old apostle; not a new revelation, but a refreshed one:

The eternal was manifested (revealed, shown, took form, became known) in time and space.
The unknowable has become knowable
The untouchable has become touchable
The unapparoachable has come near - Listen to what he says; "we have seen it with our eyes, looked upon (observed), we have handled Him with our hands."

The universe is immense in size to a degree that it is a mathematical impossibility to measure it - hundreds; NO! Thousands of light years accross; the planets, stars without number - a vast expanse with no measureable borders.

Colossians 1:15-17, "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and the earth, the things we can see and the things we cannot see, all the thrones or dominions or principalities or powers - all things were created by him and for him, and he He is before all things, and by Him all things consist (and are held together).

He existed before all of this
He caused it all to come into being
His presence permeates the universe down to each and every atom.
If you could fly to the farthest expanse of the galaxy you would find Him there.
He orders the rotation of the planets around the sun.
He pulls in the ocean tides and releases them again.
He is eternally self-existent and self-sufficient.
He is the creator and sustainer of the universe; the supreme Potentate of all thrones and dominions.
He is the King over all kings.
He is the President over all presidents.
His decrees are irresistable.
His veto is final and cannot be overturned by any congress or parliment.
At His word the universe fills with light; the seas teem with life, the fields are over run with vegetation and the course of history bends at His sway.

And John makes this incredible claim - "We have seen Him! We have observed Him! WE have touched Him with our hands."

This was no burning bush like Moses.
This was no vision like Isaiah or dream like Jacob.
This was not a disembodied voice booming from Sinai. He came striding down out of the Judean Hills to the shores of the lake, looked me straight in the eye and said, "Follow me."

By means of some incredible miracle, the one in whom the entire universe is contained was contained in a human body. Somehow, the uncontainable clothed himself in skin so He could live in fellowship with His creation.

If you want to know what separates Christianity from every other faith -- here it is! You can fear Allah, you can serve him, you can die for him, but you cannot sit down in the midst of your brokenness and talk to him. If you are a Mormon, you have to take Joe Smith's word for it about what he saw in those golden spectacles. The religions of this world have gods who speak through prophets to communicate their laws and requirements - but the One True God of Heaven has good news for mankind and He delivered it personally. Hebrews 1:1-2 says, "God who at sundry times and in various ways spoke to the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds."