Wonderings

Isaiah had spoken of John when he said, He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, Prepare the way for the Lord's coming! Clear the road for him!...Luke 3:4

As I peer through time to the scene that scripture paints of John the Baptist, waist deep in water, baptizing the willing, preaching repentence to everyone who would listen and pointing toward Christ Jesus the Messiah, I can't help but wonder in my heart if I had been there.....

Would I have been right up in the front of the crowd? Hanging on every word and praying that he would never stop speaking God's message of truth to me and my people. Letting his words penetrate to the hardest places of my heart and hoping that the truth he shared would make a real difference in my life for God's glory.

Would I have waded into the water with him? Standing in line to be one of the first of my people to be baptized unto repentence. Allowing the water to wash away the tears of my broken heart and the sins in my life. Letting God's truth wash over me like the water around me.

Or...

Would I have been near the back of the crowd? Whispering even as he spoke. Conspiring with other religious people. Asking trick questions intended to reveal weakness in his message. Doubting aloud that he was a true prophet of God. Hoping silently that I was right.....because in my heart I could not deny the truth of his words.

When John the Baptist denounced the Pharisees and Sadducees......would I have been among them?

When he shouted out to them, Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God......would his eyes have met mine from afar?

Would I have listened to John the Baptist? Would I have recognized the truth of his message? Would I have seen him for who he was? The voice shouting in the wilderness, prepare the way for the Lord's coming!

Or would I have been so wrapped up in my own idea of religion that I could not see the living, breathing gift of faith at work in him?

Scripture reveals that during the time of John the Baptist's ministry, everyone was expecting the Messiah to come soon. I cannot imagine a time in history when the church has felt more expectation of Jesus' imminent return. But I wonder.....

Will we recognize the people that God annoints to clear the road for His return? Those who speak truths that we would rather not hear.

I wonder if there are people like John the Baptist in the world today. Speaking age-old truths that we have buried beneath our religion. Truths that only those with tender hearts and willing spirits will really listen to.....and respond to.

I wonder if there are people in the world today appointed to bring revival to the lost and dying world outside the walls we've built around the church. To preach repentence. To point to Jesus alone.

People who, perhaps, dress a little different than we do. Look a little different than we do. Speak a little different than we do. People who don't seem like what we think Christians should be.

Are there annointed men and women of faith in the world today that we fail to recognize, because they don't follow the same religious rules we follow?

I wonder...if we, the church, have become so wrapped up in religion that we wouldn't see true faith if it were standing in the dark wilderness of this world shouting the message of Christ to those in desperate need of repentence.

The simplicity of John's message was downright offensive to the religious leaders of his day. He spoke of giving generously to those less fortunate and being content with what we have been given. He spoke of proving with our actions the faith that we claim. But the very core of his message was repent and turn to God. 

John preached repentence and pointed to Christ. And I wonder...

Would the very same simple message offend the church today? Because it doesn't include a list of dos and donts. It doesn't include a list of rules. It doesn't include a dress code.

Are we so wrapped up in pointing to to sin and religion, that we forget the message of the church is at its core the same as John's -- a message of repentance and Christ?

John the Baptist did not deny sin. In fact, he shone a light on sin every time he taught of repentence, but rather than focus on the sin, his ministry focused on the remedy for sin. What does our ministry focus on?

We cannot deny sin either. To deny sin is detrimental to the message of the gospel. Without an understanding of sin, we would have no understanding of repentence and no understanding of our need for the blood of Christ. Have we lost the message of the gospel because we deny that sin is still sin today?

We certainly cannot deny our own sins. To deny one's own sin is detrimental to the message of one's life. That's why John was so hard on the Parisees and Sadducees. They were quick to see the sins of others, but blind to their own sins. Have we lost the message of the gospel in our own lives because we refuse to see our own sins?

I wonder if we, the Church, would hear the simple truth of John the Baptist's message any more than the Pharisees and Sadducees did? Or, if we have we raised ourselves to thier level of religion, and lost the gift of faith in the process?

When Jesus came to John for baptism, we see in scripture a different side of this bold voice in the wilderness. John hesitated. He questioned whether he was worthy to baptize the Messiah.

Though, he boldly pointed to Jesus, John was unwilling to place himself on equal footing with the Messiah even for the brief moment it would take to baptize Him. And rightly so. John knew his place as one unworthy to even carry the sandals of Christ. And I wonder...

Have we forgotten what John knew?

When we look in condemnation on the world around us don't we put ourselves on equal footing with the Messiah -- the one lawgiver and judge (James 4:12).

Do we look at the world around us like Jonah did the Ninevites? Reluctant to share with them the message of repentance because our hatred for their vast abundance of sin has made us believe that they're not worthy to hear it.

Are we following in John the Baptist's footsteps and teaching repentance and Christ?

Are we showing the world around us the gift of faith in us......or will they be forced to find it somewhere else?

(Journey: Mark 1:1-11; Luke 3:1-22; Matthew 3:1-17; John 1:19-34)