Resolving to Thrive
John Ortberg writes about a medical phrase: “Failure to Thrive.” His wife Nancy, a nurse, says that doctors and nurses apply that phrase to an infant who can’t seem to grow or gain weight. The baby is alive. But it does not thrive. It suffers from a failure to thrive.[1]
C. S. Lewis wrote of similar failure faced by adults. He used two words–bios and zoe–to describe it. Bios, from which we get the word “biology,” refers to living. Every person not in a cemetery succeeds at bios. Zoe, however, refers to more than living. It refers to thriving. Every person has bios; not every person has zoe. Bios, Lewis proposes, is like a statue. Zoe is like the statue coming to life. Many of us have bios but we suffer from a lack of zoe. We are alive but we do not thrive. Our heart beats but our soul does not flourish. But when you finally go from just having bios to also having zoe, it’s like you’ve been a statue all your life and you’ve come alive as a real human.[2] It’s like you were once a wooden puppet and now you’re a real boy named Pinocchio.
This distinction is an important one at the beginning of a New Year. Many, when they reflect on a New Year, regret their failure to thrive in the old year. They long for zoe and not just bios in the New Year.
Sitting at the beginning of a New Year, we don’t merely want to survive one more year. We’d like to thrive. We’d like to flourish this New Year. What we’re longing for is zoe.
Epiphany’s Focus on Jesus
That longing has shaped how millions of Christians have historically started each New Year. Christians around the world mark the New Year with a special day on January 6 called “Epiphany.” The English word “Epiphany” comes from a Greek word meaning “appearance/manifestation.” In ancient times an epiphany referred to a visible manifestation of a god. For Christians, the Epiphany refers to the visible manifestation of God in Jesus. Christmas celebrates when Jesus made his initial visit to the world. Epiphany celebrates when Jesus went public and manifested himself not just to shepherds but to the rest of the world.[3]
In some Christian traditions that rest of the world begins with the wise men who learn of Jesus’ identity when he is young. In Hispanic and Latino cultures Epiphany is called “Three Kings Day” or el Dia de los Tres Reyes. In other Christian traditions that rest of the world begins with those who were ministered to after Jesus’ baptism. Epiphany thus consists of a dedicated time of contemplating the life of Jesus from his baptism to his transfiguration.
Epiphany both begins the New Year and ends the “Twelve Days of Christmas.” These twelve days, popularized by a Christmas song, run from Christmas, December 25, to January 6. Epiphany is a way of ending the old year and starting the New Year with a focus on Jesus.
A Greek form of the word epiphany is used in John 1 when John describes Jesus as a light “shining” in the darkness:
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (Jn. 1:5 ESV)
An epiphany involves light. Even today, when we say something like, “I’ve had an epiphany!” we mean that a lightbulb went on in our minds. And, in Jesus, the ultimate light bulb went on in the world. Epiphany starts the New Year with a celebration of how God shed light on himself through Jesus.
Jesus as a Way to Thrive
And a primary reason Christians have historically started the New Year with Epiphany and its focus on Jesus, is their deep conviction that Jesus is the source of life.[4] Not simply bios. But zoe. That in Jesus we gain the capacity not simply to be alive, but to thrive. Christians have historically started the New Year with an extended contemplation on Jesus because in Jesus we find real life.
John’s Ending: Jesus is Life
This is the central confession of John’s Gospel. John’s Gospel stands apart from Matthew, Mark and Luke. The latter three are often called “Synoptic” — a word meaning “seeing together.” Matthew, Mark and Luke “see” the life of Jesus similarly. Large portions of those gospels read almost exactly the same. John, however, includes many elements about Jesus not found elsewhere. This makes his gospel unique. For example, John includes 7 “I am” sayings from Jesus and 7 “signs” or miracles from Jesus that have elements not found in the Synoptic Gospels. It’s not that John made these up. It’s simply that Jesus did so much that it couldn’t fit in the three gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. It required another gospel–John’s.
And John ends this unique gospel by claiming that in Jesus we gain the capacity not simply to be alive but to thrive.
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 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 ESV)
John wrote this unique gospel “so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life.” John writes so that we can find real life in Jesus. The word “life” is the word zoe. John ends his gospel by promising that in Jesus we gain the capacity to thrive.
Let’s consider the first part of John’s statement.
The first “believe” means something that happens once. It’s as if John is writing, “so that you might come to a point in time when you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.”
The second “believe” means something that is ongoing. It’s like John is writing, “so that you might continue to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.”
In other words, John is focusing on two things.
- First, he’s focusing on the goal of helping you reach a single moment in time when you finally come to believe that Jesus is not just some religious man but is the Christ, the Son of God. He wants to get you past your objections and your reservations and help you finally become a believer in Jesus and then to express that belief in baptism.
- Second, John’s also focusing on what happens after your baptism. Because, in many ways, that’s just when believing begins. John knows there are many things that can cause us to question our faith or lose our faith. John’s writing this gospel to help us keep hanging on to faith, to keep believing in Jesus.
And what John wants to lead us to for the first time, and help us cling to the rest of the time, are two things about Jesus:
Believe/Keep Believing in Jesus as…
| Christ | Son of God |
| What he does | Who he is |
| Position | Personhood |
| King of a Kingdom | Member of a Family |
- First, John writes so that we might for the first time and for all time believe that the person called Jesus is Christ. “Christ” is a translation of the Greek Christos which is a translation of the Hebrew “Messiah.” “Christ” literally means “Anointed One.” It was most commonly used in the Old Testament of a king who was anointed.[5] This word refers to what Jesus does, his position. He is king and he rules. He is king and he is ushering in a better kingdom than the kingdom of the world. John writes his gospel in order to get us to believe for the very first time and for every day afterwards that Jesus is King.
- Second, John writes so that we might believe for the first time and for every time afterwards that the person called Jesus is the Son of God. “Son of God” refers to who Jesus is, his personhood. It recalls that he is a member of a family made of himself, his Father, and the Spirit. He is not just a king. He is a son equal to Father and Spirit. He is not just a king, he is your brother. John writes in order to get us to believe for the very first time and for every day afterwards that Jesus is the Son of God.
Why? Because of this: “that you may have life in his name” (Jn. 20:31 ESV). That word “life” or zoe is used 36 times by John in his gospel.
That’s more than any other book in the New Testament. If you want one word to summarize John’s gospel it’s this: zoe. Life. For John the most important reason to focus on Jesus, to believe in Jesus, is this: In Jesus, we gain the capacity not simply to be alive, but to thrive.
And that’s why millions around the world begin every New Year with Epiphany, focusing on Jesus. Because if we want to experience life in the New Year, we’re going to find it in Jesus.
That’s how John ends his gospel.
John’s Beginning: Jesus is Life
And that’s how John begins his gospel:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1-5 ESV)
John begins his story in the way the Bible begins its story. John 1 echoes Genesis 1. Look at just three similarities between what Genesis states and what John states:
| Genesis 1 | John 1 |
| #1 – In the beginning, God… (Gen. 1:1) | In the beginning was the Word…He was in the beginning… (Jn. 1:1,2) |
| #2 – …God created the heavens and the earth… (Gen. 1:1) | All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. (Jn. 1:3) |
| #3 – And God said, “Let there be light…” (Gen. 1:3) | In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness… (Jn. 1:4-5) |
What John wants us to know is that Jesus is Genesis 2.0. Just as Genesis records God as the source of all life, John records Jesus as the source of all life.
That’s one of the reasons John calls Jesus “the Word” here. In Genesis, God created life by speaking words. Eight times in Genesis 1 we read “And God said,” followed by the eruption of some new life. Literally, God’s word brought life. John wants us to know that Jesus was that life-giving word. Jesus is the source of our bios. Jesus was there with God at creation, participating in the start of all life.
But John wants us to know that Jesus is even more than this. He is also the source of our zoe. That’s his ultimate point in this introduction:
In him was life and the life was the light of men. (Jn. 1:4 ESV)
In Jesus, John writes, is zoe. Jesus did more than just give us the ability to live. He gives us the ability to thrive
The story of Pinocchio was retold in a 2008 movie.[6] In a familiar scene, the wooden puppet comes to life through the magic of a fairy. What follows is this dialogue:
Geppetto: “You’re alive! Do you understand? You’re alive!”
Pinocchio: “I’m alive!”…”What do you mean ‘I’m alive’?”
Geppetto: “What does it mean? Well, unless I’m going mad, and this isn’t just a dream, it means you have a life to live.”
Pinocchio: “And what do you have a life for?”
Geppetto: (Silence)
Pinocchio: “And so is this a good thing or bad thing?”
Geppetto: “No—it’s a beautiful thing. A wonderful thing! What do you have it for? Uhhhhh…I’ll have to think about it.”
In other words, even for a wooden puppet, it’s not enough to just be alive. We need meaning. We need purpose. We need perspective. We crave to understand the bigger picture and the reason for our life. In other words, we crave zoe.
And that is why John has written this gospel. That’s why he begins and ends it with the claim that in Jesus we find life. That is why he urges us to focus upon Jesus. That is why Christians around the world begin this New Year with that focus. Because if you’re looking to be fully alive this New Year, it’s going to come from Jesus. If you want to know what you have a life for, the answer is going to be found in Jesus.
Now What?
What do we do with this? Let me invite you to consider two things.
First, consider participating in a series of daily spiritual exercises which I’ll be blogging about on my website at www.chrisaltrock.com. The series is called “Finding God in the New Year.” There are some preliminary/background posts you can skim through right now. But the real meat of the series starts Jan. 6. Each day I’ll offer you a way to focus on a particular aspect of Jesus, in the hopes that you’ll find more life in Jesus through that focus.
Second, I invite you while we sing to come to the front and fill out a “Life Request.” It’s a simple sheet of paper on which you can write down one area of your life in which you want to ask Jesus to help you thrive in this New Year. We’re going to stand and sing. While we do, make your way to the front, fill out one of these sheets and leave it by the mailbox right here. Write down an area in which you want to thrive this New Year. Then, when the song is done we’ll stop and pray over these life requests. No names are needed. Just leave them anonymous.
[1] John Ortberg, The Me I Want to Be, Zondervan, 2010: 29.
[2] C. S. Lewis, A Year With C. S. Lewis, Edited by Patricia Klein, HarperSanFrancisco 2003, 189.
[3] Peter C. Bower, Editor, The Companion to the Book of Common Worship Geneva Press, 2003: 94-95.
[4] There is some evidence of churches commemorating Epiphany as early as the second century after Jesus’ death. For certain it was widely commemorated by the fourth century after Jesus’ death. [Hoyt Hickman The New Handbook of the Christian Year (Abingdon Press, 2010), 23-24.]
[5] Kittel, G., Bromiley, G. W., & Friedrich, G. (Eds.). (1964–). Theological dictionary of the New Testament (electronic ed., Vol. 9, p. 498). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
[6] Pinocchio (Lux Vide, 2008), directed by Alberto Sironi
