By Evan Bolton, Cheryl McGrath and David Bolton
for “The WORD in 3D” initiative.
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“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
John 1:14 NKJV
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The Incarnate Son
by Evan Bolton
It began with the Word
The first authority
An utterance calling forth
Light, order, beauty and life
A creation meant to reflect the divine
An eternal fellowship
A perfect unity
By the Word we were spoken into being
Created in the image of God
In the likeness of the Beloved
He created us knowing the ultimate cost
Understanding the fragility of our humanity
Our proneness to wander
Our desire to ascend above
Yet still, a breath of life was given
The calling of relationship set into motion
A relationship centered and sustained by the Word
For we were created lovely
Good and beautiful
Fearfully and wonderfully made were we
This is a truth we can claim
A declaration we can believe
An identity found in the Incarnate Son
The Word Tabernacled
The One and Only
Jesus, the servant, humble and lowly
He came as the prototype, the master plan
To restore, redeem and embrace
The exiled wanderer
The prodigal son
He came full of grace and truth
In Him we behold the Father’s glory
A desire to see man fully alive
This is the beauty of the Word
In Him all was made
And through Him all was redeemed
In His divinity He formed us from the dust
In the flesh He took on our very nature
Stooping into the rot and decay of our humanity
His heart set and purposed to restore
To lift out of the muck and the mire
To wash and make new
The image we were meant to carry
The image of a Son
A Son reflecting the glory of the Father
© Evan Bolton, 2013
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The Word
by Cheryl McGrath
Dwelling among us
You dined at our tables
Walked our streets
Danced at our weddings
And drank our wine
Our daily disputes assaulted Your ears
Our sorrows, our fears
Became Your companions
How many then
Beheld Your glory?
Passing You by
Casually dismissing The Word
From Whom we draw our breath?
And how few stared into Your eyes
Daring to recognise
The Word become flesh?
Dwelling among us
In Spirit now
You dry our tears
Sing us Your song
And dance at our weddings
Our daily demands assault Your ears
Our sorrows, our fears
Still rise to assail You
Unseen You draw near
To light our darkness
Share our burdens
And carry us on Your shoulders
Yet blindly beholding Your glory
How many invited guests
Still fail to perceive
That Word has become flesh?
But dwelling among us
Was always Your plan
Not to be thwarted
By angel or man
Determined before the dawn of time
That we should dine at Your table
Dance at your wedding
Drink Your wine
And when, beholding at last
The fullness of Your glory,
Even then shall we understand?
Or simply bow in humble reverence
And ask ourselves afresh
“What kind of God is this
Who, being God, would dwell with man?
What mystery is in our midst?
That Eternal Word became mortal flesh?”
© Cheryl McGrath, Bread for the Bride, 2013
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The Word/Echoes
by David Bolton
The Spirit o’er deep darkness broods
Waiting to birth forth the sun
Earth and sky and all that moves
Expressions of the Speaking One
Ancient echoes now commence
Resoundings of an unheard Word
Prophets each their message send
Sublime whispers to be heard
Prophet Sun and Prophet Moon
Prophet Ocean, Sky and Land
Prophet Eagle, Ox and Lion
Crowning all, Prophet Man
Over vale and mountain peak
Far as eye and mind traverse
All creation hears their speech
The Word-incarnate universe
~ ~ ~
The Spirit o’er deep darkness broods
Waiting to birth forth the Son
Deep in virgin, peasant womb
Silently forms the Speaking One
The Primal Voice that heavens shaped
Bears the earthy tone of man
An infant’s cry, a boyish laugh
A Teacher’s warm and wise command
Prophets all who’ve gone before
Faint echoings compared to this
The Word in full and final form
The carpenter of Nazareth
Were all recorded of this Word
The world could not contain the scrolls
With every movement seen or heard
The Father’s glory men behold
And in one climax utterance
All other tongues are mute to say
The Word nailed high upon a cross
God’s Love declared and on display
~ ~ ~
The Spirit o’er deep darkness broods
Waiting to birth many sons
Kind of kind to reproduce
Offspring of the Speaking One
The Seed that fell into the earth
Dead and dormant in disguise
Quickened new with Heaven’s breath
Lives again and multiplies
The Seed imperishable remains
Birthing echoes of the Word
The Voice incarnate forms again
Living epistles to be heard
The Word now runs on feet of clay
To the ends of all the earth
The Message heard both night and day
Displaying forth incarnate truth
~ ~ ~
The Word created, and became
And He is becoming still
Flesh embodying the Name
The glory of the Father’s Will
© David Bolton, 2013
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
A Collaborated Prayer
Father, may these creative expressions reveal Your great love for us and the lengths to which You would go to redeem us back to Yourself. May the breath of the Holy Spirit infuse each phrase to reveal the beauty of Your Son and the mystery of His incarnation among us, and may those who read be deeply drawn to Him. As we consider afresh the coming of Your Son, may our eyes be opened to behold more fully the glory of Him Who became like us in our humility, that we may become like Him in His glory!
Amen.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
We all wish you a very blessed and joyous Christmas as you celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
________________________
Please take time to visit and explore the contributing authors’ respective blogs for more Christ-honoring content by them:
Cheryl McGrath at “Bread For the Bride“.
(More of Cheryl’s poetry may be found here.)
Evan Bolton at “mission:soccer“.
(More of Evan’s poetry may be found here.)
David Bolton at “Christ-Centered Christianity”.
(More of David’s creative expressions may be found here.)
For more information about this initiative, please see: “The WORD in 3D” – About
Hello there Evan, Cheryl and David,
Wonderfully moving stuff and inspiring lines with which to enter Advent. I’ll have re-read your tributes a few times and imbibe. Thanks sincerely, and all the blessings of Christ’s grace to you and yours!
Erroll.
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Thank you, Erroll, for your kind and encouraging words. I’m (we’re) glad it was an inspiration to you! It was an excitingly hopeful, yet somewhat trepidatious, step of faith to trust Him for this project. It is a blessing to know that it is an inspiritation and blessing those who are “imbibing”!
Love and blessings to you and your family!
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What a wonderful meditation! Poetry often leads me to tributaries I never thought to explore before and this piece broadens my thougthts and ideas of Jesus. It’s boundless where He takes us, isn’t it? Thank you for this refreshing and compelling collaboration on our Lord.
Sharon
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Hi Sharon. It is great to hear from you! I love the words that you have used to express your heart here. It makes me think of what the Psalmist said, “There is a river whose streams (tributaries) shall make glad the city of God.” Those streams run through each one of us. Thank you for refreshing us as well with your encouraging comment.
Love in Him!
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Blessings Evan, Cheryl, and David,
The creative expression of The Word is indeed a blessings, thank you for coming together on this to provide us a better picture of The Life and Light of the world,
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Thank you, Jim. Your comments are always a blessing. May the Lord bless you and your family this holiday season as you take time to reflect on Immanuel, God with us!
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Wow. Absolutely STUNNING.
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Pamela, your comment speaks loudly! 🙂 Thank you for such an encouraging reply!
May the Lord’s grace be yours in abundance as you continue to rest in Him!
Many blessings!
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Errol, Jim, Sharon and Pam, Thankyou for your kind and encouraging comments. Taking part in this Word in 3D project with David and Evan has been a great experience and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to participate. Isn’t it wonderful how He can take a handful of members of His Body and bring forth such a harmonious picture of Himself from their diverse offerings. As Sharon said: It’s boundless where He can take us.
Cheryl McGrath
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Thanks Cheryl. As you said.
I will be using some of your writings at our house church gatherings over the next few weeks. I am sure they’ll bless the saints here in our area.
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Pingback: The Word | Bread for the Bride
Anointed indeed…
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Thank you, Bren, for your comment. Grace and peace to you in our wonderful Lord!
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