1 John 1:1-4
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands concerning the word of life – 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us – 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

The miracle of Christmas is the miracle of the Incarnation. God, the eternal Son, took on flesh and dwelt among people in the person of Jesus Christ! John brings this out in his Gospel (John 1:14 among other spots), his Revelation (5:5-10), and in his first letter in our passage above. Look at how He describes it in this first epistle. The very God who was from the beginning, we’ve heard Him! We’ve seen Him with our very eyes! More than seeing Him, we’ve looked upon Almighty God and touched Him with our hands – the very word of life!

Can you sense the excitement?! Can you take in the amazement? The One who is life itself has been revealed as life Himself, and has made Himself known to John and the other apostles through the Incarnation! What is the outcome of this? Verse three tells us – shared fellowship with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ and growing joy.

Many of us know this feeling of being a kid on Christmas morning – running to the room to see the gifts out on display or neatly wrapped and ready to open. As you get older though, you realize the gifts weren’t the gift. The gift was the people present who thought enough about you to sacrifice their time, treasure, and talents to provide you those loving moments and memories wrapped in gifts yes, but even more in their time with you, their provisions to you, their affection for you. Being present with them, during those times – that was the gift. The essence of this gift points to one much greater.

Now imagine you are a child again and you receive a gift you’ve been longing for, only this gift is different. It’s different because it comes directly from the One who knew you well enough to give you the perfect gift, a gift you were most longing for, but that was above and beyond anything you could have formed into words or penned on a list. On this occasion, the One who gave you the true gift for which you’d unknowingly been longing, was the author and designer of every good gift you have ever, and will ever receive. And it turns out this greatest gift – this eternal life – is to know God the Father and the One whom He has sent (John 17:3). This is to know in intimate, ever-growing communion the Triune God of whom David once wrote, “…in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore,” (Psalm 16:11). This is to see and bask in His matchless and inestimable worth described by the Asaph, “Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever,” (Psalm 73:25-26). This is to take and drink of the all-refreshing, living water that Jesus offered the woman at the well in John 4 – the kind that leaves you satisfied and is a spring that never runs dry.

This fellowship, this intimate, joy-filled relationship with the Almighty King, the lover of our souls, the Holy God, came at the most astounding of costs. It meant the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us (John 1:14). It meant the King of Kings and Lord of lords leaving the riches of heaven and taking on the form of a servant by being born in the likeness of men (Philippians 2:7). It meant this King in human form humbling Himself even further to experience death on a cross (Philippians 2:8). Why did He do this? He did this so that we, enslaved in our sin, doomed and deserving of Hell, could but look to Christ lifted up and be cleansed from all our sin by His blood. Through His shed blood and resurrection, by faith springing up from the Spirit (see John 3:3-8; 1:12-13; 4:10,14), we are cleansed and enter into that eternal life in fellowship with the Father and Jesus His Son – to His eternal praise and our everlasting joy.

But this joy we find in fellowship with God, through faith in the shed blood of the Son, is a growing joy. Verses 3 and 4 tell us that John and the other believers are proclaiming the wonders of personally experiencing the Incarnation and the fellowship believers have with the Father and the Son, for a very specific reason. What they have witnessed and enjoyed in fellowship with each other and with God, they want others to experience. “We proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ,” (1 John 1:3). When you’ve found forgiveness, life eternal, and the loving embrace of the Father and Son of the universe, you want that for others. Your joy isn’t only found in your enjoyment of God eternal, but in others finding their ultimate satisfaction in Him as well.

That’s why we go out to meet and pray for our neighbors, to sing carols, to have outreach services like this Sunday, to go and support others going to the ends of the earth proclaiming the matchless name of Jesus. Others finding joy in Him is the wonderful work God has given us to do that glorifies Him and completes our joy (John 1:4).

Father, have Your way among us this Sunday! By Your Spirit at work in and through us, take the joy of our fellowship we have with You and Your Son and allow children in our midst, and those who don’t yet know you, to look to Christ and receive the gift of eternal fellowship with us and You! Be at work to complete their joy and ours for Your glory we pray. In the name of Your Son Jesus, we ask. Amen.