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

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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

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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

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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

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The Word created, and became
And He is becoming still
Flesh embodying the Name
The glory of the Father’s Will

© David Bolton, 2013

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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.

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We all wish you a very blessed and joyous Christmas as you celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

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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”. (website no longer available)
(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