It is our natural inclination to see ourselves as the main character. I remember having the thought when I was maybe two years old that I was the only person in the world with thoughts and a “self,” and other people were simply props in my life. That kind of thinking is ingrained in us. But in fact we would have a better understanding of the world, and even of ourselves, if our focus started on Jesus, and we saw him as the main character of our own stories. There’s a reason John includes multiple chapters of Jesus monologuing about himself and the Father. Look first to Jesus; let your worldview start not with yourself but with Christ!
So who is this Jesus, and how dare he elevate himself to the status of God? Well first of all, he is the picture of perfect humility that would never seek a glory that wasn’t his. Like every good son should, Jesus loves, obeys, and utterly depends on his Father and focuses all his effort toward honoring and glorifying him. Jesus is not great because he wants to be great, but because his Father wants him to be. Jesus has authority not because he grappled for it, but because his Almighty God and Father entrusted his own authority over all things unto his Son. Perfectly glorifying the Father, perfectly glorified by the Father—this is the nature of the inner workings of God, an ever-increasing love for one another that is all the joy and glory that either one could ever need, and in fact the very kind of love that all creation desperately needs!
This is Jesus. This is the main character of our story—the Son of God, lovingly given all the authority of God by his Father God. In fact he has all authority over life itself. This is where we finally come in: our very lives are rooted in Jesus. Every blessing which was created by the Father, all of the eternal life full of joyful flourishing that we could ever imagine, is given by the man who walked in Israel two thousand years ago. Without Jesus, all things lead naturally to death; but by his wise and powerful judgment, he brings dead things to life.
It's worth repeating Jesus’ words here (as it often is): whoever hears the Son’s word and so believes the Father has crossed over from death to life. Jesus is the giver of life and the perfect judge of evil, sent by God the Father, dwelling personally with us. Hence the most important question any person will ever face: do you believe that?
