These short verses at the beginning of the Gospel of John are packed with intentionality. They proclaim Jesus as true God both to the Jew and to the Gentile. At the same time, they establish this person of the Godhead to have experience, eternity, and incredible power.

When our congregations merged a few months ago, I found myself in the role of moving coordinator. By the end of summer, I grew to deeply appreciate a core group of men who never failed to show up on our volunteer days. These men knew the building inside and out. I would need whiteboards relocated, shelving units wall mounted, and any other number of specialized tasks. They not only knew which tools the job needed, but they had them along and required no further instruction. In fact, I would have had absolutely no idea how to do many of those things myself. I was entirely reliant on their strength and experience to accomplish what needed to get done. After the first couple of volunteer days, I began to realize how lost I would be without them and worried that they may burn out and stop coming. They never did. Their love for God and for his church compelled them to continue to show up, to do what I could not have possibly done myself.

These were human men, sinful and flawed, but I grew to love and depend on them as they simultaneously showed me my limits and accomplished the goals set before me. How much more does our Savior have the experience and strength to carry us through difficulties in this life? When faced with obstacles, we can trust that our Savior knows not only our lives inside and out but the universe and all eternity. We can rely on the strength and experience of our Savior as well as his relentless love and dependability. Let us deeply appreciate our Savior who never fails to show up.

Our God has known each specialized task that would be set before us since the dawn of time. In all his wisdom, he put them in place himself, and he has been ready with the tools, the experience, and the strength to see us through each one, needing no instruction from us.

His love—his timeless, dependable, and unrelenting love—has not and will not ever burn out or fail to show up. Unlike human men whose love and strength would wane over months and years of our calling on them, our God’s strength and love have been in place for all eternity. That love and might will never wane, and he is eager for us to acknowledge our need for him, to know and rely on his love for us.

You have been loved since the beginning of time by a God who can and will get you through anything and everything set before you.