God sent John to witness and prepare
the world for the Messiah, the Son of God.
John knew that this Messiah was coming and God had told him that he
would know him by the spiritual light emanating from him, full of grace and
truth. (How thrilling that must have
been for John to know that he would indeed SEE this man eventually in his lifetime
and hear him speak!)
So, John went out to preach to anyone
and everyone about this “true light” that was coming into the world. John’s preaching about the coming of the Lord
and his symbolic baptisms with water were his way of “paving the way” so that
when this man he had not met yet did come, the people would be better prepared
to accept his teachings and become children of God.
How fortunate for John, that while many
of us struggle through life trying to figure out what our purpose is, he knew
for certain that he was to convince people that this Messiah they would meet
was the Son of God. But: what an arduous
and difficult task that had to be!
Naturally, he was questioned and scrutinized, and he must have appeared
to be absolutely insane to say something like, a man of this
world-but-not-of-this-world is going to come and heal you and bring you peace, and
oh, and by the way – you won’t know him or recognize him. How John trusted God!
The critics and skeptics were sent to
question him, probably expecting him to proclaim himself the prophet, the
Messiah, but he denied them this predictability. Instead, he claimed to be “the voice of one
calling in the wilderness” and to “make way for the Lord.” The messenger has spoken.
When Jesus approached John the next
day, he knew from his holy aura that this was “the Lamb of God who would take
away the sins of the world.” Let us all,
as we wander through this “wilderness,” continue to remember to “pave the way”
for our brothers and sisters. Let us all
continue to place our complete trust in God.
Let us know, as John did, that God has a plan for us and a clock for us
to serve our purpose!
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, We come to you as you pour out your spirit on
us. John wanted everyone to know this
“true light.” Let us press on too, to
help others to know this light. Thank
you for adopting us into your kingdom, Amen.
Valenne
Neel & Debra Neel
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