Sunday Thought – 02.02.25

The ‘Word of the Year’ for 2024 was ‘manifest’, according to the Cambridge Dictionary.

Manifest, meaning, “to show something clearly through signs or actions” is now known as, “to imagine achieving something you want, in the belief doing so will make it more likely to happen”.

The use of language and its meaning does change through time, but to suggest to people that thinking about something you want will make it more likely to happen seems fanciful. The word ‘manifest’ in the King James Version (KJV) is translated as ‘show’ in modern translations.

In John 14:21, Jesus said to His disciples

“Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show (manifest, KJV) myself to them.”

The Lord Jesus showed the greatness of His love for us in giving His life for us on the cross. We show our love in return by keeping His commands, not in imagining it’s something we want, but in the reality of His promises that He loves us, lives in us and we can rely on Him.

“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” (1 John 4:16)