“Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written” (John 21:25 ESV).
John wrote his gospel account so that its readers might hear and believe. Yet he was aware that there was much more that he could’ve written. As he wrote earlier in his gospel: “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:30–31).
These words of John bring to my mind the third verse of the hymn entitled “The Love of God” by Frederick M. Lehman:
“Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.”
Let us stand in awe of the greatness of Jesus. What He has done cannot be fully written down, and what we do know is more than enough to lead us to life. We may not grasp the full extent of His works or His love, but we have been given enough to believe. Let us treasure the Scriptures, trust the testimony of the apostles, and never grow tired of learning more about Christ. May our hearts remain open to wonder, and may our lives reflect the truth that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
PRAYER: Dear Lord, we thank You for what has been written so that we may believe. Your Word is a gift, and through it we have come to know Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God. Even though the world could not contain all that could be written about Him, we rejoice in what we have received. Help us to believe more deeply and live more faithfully. Fill our hearts with reverence for Your Word and wonder at Your love. May we never lose sight of the immeasurable love of Jesus. In His name we pray, amen.