The Perfect Christmas Meditation

“In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” — John 1:4

I’ve been memorizing John 1:1-5. It’s one of those poetic and artistic openers in Scripture that has me hanging on every single word. James M. Hamilton Jr. writes this about John chapter one:

“Could there be a more profound opening to a book than the one to John’s Gospel? One could search the great ideas of mankind and probe the ponderings of the philosophers and the poetry of the artists and find no idea higher than God, nor a more concise—yet expressive—statement about him, than the one John makes at the beginning of his Gospel.”

Read it slowly now, letting each word sink in:

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.

— John 1:1-5

Earlier this month, Natalie recorded a podcast episode to help us understand the deep richness of our verse and its context. And now, I’m challenging you to let this whole passage dwell richly inside your heart and mind as we near the celebration of the birth of Jesus. Remind your soul this season that he is the revealed Word of God, God himself, the light of all mankind, the one who made all things, the one who overcomes darkness (even within you), and he wants to give you his life!

It’s so, so good.

So, let me help you memorize all five of these verses. Download this lockscreen and set it as your phone background to start memorizing right now. And I pray that the beauty and the power and the truth of these words will burn bright in you this Christmas season and for the rest of your life.

Vera Schmitz

Vera Schmitz is the co-founder and chief creative officer of Dwell Differently. She’s the co-author of the Dwell on These Things Bible study and Dwell Differently: Overcome Negative Thinking with the Simple Practice of Memorizing God’s Truth. She lives in Missouri with her husband and 3 sons.