I was reading John 1:16-18 again today, looking at the grace upon grace bought for us by Christ, and thinking about the charm, beauty, goodness, and the creativity and fertility of mind and body we have been given through God's grace, (see blog Grace upon grace), when my eyes went to verse 18
'No one has ever seen God but the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father has made him known.
I looked up the word bosom. It is a general term for a woman's breasts, but actually means;
chest or a close friendship. In Greek it means the bosom of a garment; a bay or an inlet.
So, in the context of John 1, I feel that it means this;
Jesus resided in the bosom/chest of the Father and is the closest friend of the Father. As I understand it, he is the heart of the Father. A calm bay of love and an inlet into the heart of God. God the Father then gave this part of himself to come/stoop down to us. To reach out to us with all his love and give us a way into the peace and calmness of the Father - not just for a little while until we feel better - but for eternity.
He exchanged our sins for his love through Jesus on the cross. Through our Saviour, we live in the bosom of God, like a new born baby in the arms of a doting dad. We could never earn such love. Yet he gives it freely. I can barely understand the depth of his love, nor how immense it is - it is all encompassing, huge! Too big for me to understand, but I want it!
How about you?
This is how I understand my God.
Read for yourself, see what you think.