Journal #7 (Called to Love:The Gospel of John and the Book of Revelation) by Patrick Roy

The one key idea of this chapter is being callede to love everyone. This includes all of our enemies and friends. When we read the Gospel of John we realize that Jesus was and is with us in spirit and within each other. The spirit that moves us to faith today is also amazingly the same spirit that dwelled in the early Christians. When we fully commit ourselves to our faith we begin to vaguely understand how we are called to live. When we share that faith with others we show others that God has love for us and he has love for others also. Finally, when we love we show that God is with us always, through good times and bad times in our lives. We need to love how Jesus loved during his lifetime. He loved everyone around him, including his friends and foes.

2. Write about two major ideas you want to remember. Write a short paragraph on each clearly stating the idea and then telling why you want to remember it.
One idea from this chapter that I want to remember is the Book of Revelation. It is a symbolic book of literature that was origanally only understood by the audience that it was written for. It was written for seven sets of faith: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodica. One thing about the Book of Revelation that we need to understand is that it is not just abut the triumph f God over evil and death sometime in the future, but the triumph over evil and death whicvh already took place through the actions of Jesus' death on and Resurrection. Since Emperor Nero's reign, Christianity was subjected to persecution in some places. The Book of Revelation provided a sense of hope that God's presence would be a sustaining force in the suffering.

Another idea I would like to remember is the "IAM" statements in the Gospel of John. They took four forms: Jesus identifies himself with something already known to his followers; three 'IAM' statements emphasize the relationship between Jesus and his followers; third form is two statements that are straightforward sayings of Jesus as the life-giver; and the fourth and final form isd Jesus respinding to questions of self-identification. The 'IAM' statements are supposed to proclaim the divinity of Jesus. They remind us of Moses' encounter with God in the burning bush. God revealed himself as "I AM WHO I AM" in that encounter.

3. One image that captures the chapter for you.

Website Image Taken From

4. One significant question you have from this chapter. It can be intellectual or personal.
Why, in the Gospel of John, does Jesus speak more in allegories than in parables?

Possible answer: A allegory is an expression of truths or generalizations of human experiences through use of symbolic fictional figures or actions. Jesus spoke more in allegories possibly to try and get his audience to better understand what and why he was talking about what he was talking about. Although Jesus' parables gave them hints and clues about the kingdom of God, allegories help audiences understand more clearly.


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