Unlike the other three historical Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), the Gospel of John is a blend of theology and poetry. For example: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God." This one verse has inspired theologians to write books, musicians to compose music and poets to write poetry. The Jewish concept of the "Word" of God is rooted in the Hebrew Scriptures which is associated with both God's spoken Word(s) and the actions God has taken. In the Old Testament, God's Word created all life and is the revealing, saving, and judging power of the Almighty. Within John's Gospel, the Son of God is the living presence of God through Christ Jesus. The Word, the Son, existed with God from the beginning, at the time of the creation of the world. And, the Word, Christ Jesus, has been intimately involved in the creation of all that is. This first verse of John's first chapter of Gospel describes what theologians call the pre-existence of Christ. If Jesus was with God before the creation of the world… then God has always been like Jesus. It is easy to assume that the God we read about in the Old Testament is more like a judge than our Father. But, John's Gospel describes that Jesus has revealed that love, not judgment, has always been the best description of God. It is like when a child learns how to play a song on the piano. At first it doesn’t' sound right. But, it doesn't mean that the music is bad. Jesus is the true music of God. It was not until his life, birth, and resurrection…it was not until he became our indwelling Lord that we know that God was not a judge, but a loving Father. John begins his Gospel story not with the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, but John starts before the world was ever created. John retells the creation story, but this time it will have a happy ending for everyone. The connection to Genesis 1 reminds us that although we were made in God's image, something dreadful happened that we call sin, and now we are no longer in the light, but in complete darkness. In fact, says John, we actually now prefer darkness. The worst thing about all of this is that we are not capable of recognizing or accepting Christ. Because we cannot help ourselves out of our sinful dilemma, God comes from the outside to intervene through his own Son. This only Son chose to leave his closeness to the Father's heart (v.18) in order to rescue us as our Savior from sin, for inclusion into God's family (v. 12). We can now live as we were intended to live in the first place. We now reflect the image of the "Father's only Son" (v. 14); not just for our own sake, but to "lighten the path of those still in darkness" (20:31).