I am taken with the paraphrase of John 1:14 in The Message, “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.” Jesus could have been a world renowned traveling evangelist to the Gentile world, but the Word was incarnate in a narrow strip of land called Israel, mostly serving in Galilee. This was not the neighborhood most folks would have chosen. The automobile has enabled a way to escape the neighborhoods in which we live, sometimes walking away from being God’s presence to the people around us. For Jesus, incarnational ministry was very local. Getting close to neighbors is transforming for you and the neighbor.
“The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.” John 1:14 (MSG)
