Resolution
Do you ever think about credibility? I have. You know how at the beginning of a new year, a lot of people make New Year’s resolutions? I try not to do that. At least, not anymore. Only because I know about this time I will have broken them all. But this year, I decided to do something I’ve always wanted to do, but never have. And that’s read through the bible in a year. So I found a plan that has me reading a bit of Old Testament, a bit of Psalms and a bit of New Testament. So far I’m doing pretty good. I’m only behind a little.
In my New Testament readings I am in the book of John and I came across a couple of verses that stood out to me like a beacon! Normally you would probably just read over these verses and not think a whole lot about them, or you may focus on the obvious one. It’s the not-so-obvious one that dominated my brain.
John 1:35-37
“The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.”
The Baptizer
John. John the Baptist. Jesus’ cousin. Who, even before he was born, leaped for joy in his mother’s womb when encountering Mary and the unborn Jesus. John, who was foretold by the angel Gabriel himself that he would be filled with the Holy Spirit, and that “he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” (Luke 1:16,17)
John, who said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord’.” He had such an authoritative presence and powerful message that people asked if he was the Christ. John, who spoke only to proclaim the coming of the true messiah; who had his own followers, who declared “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” (John 1:26,27)
John’s chief task was to prepare people for Christ. John, “who was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light”. He was bold and unreserved. He had his own band of disciples and had established credibility among the people of Israel. Such a man!
And yet.
Again John 1:35-37
“The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.”
Do you see it?
“The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.”
The point is this. John’s life was about making Jesus’ name known. Not his own. Preparing people for the Savior was his calling so that when Jesus came, they would know Him; they would follow Him. And when the time came, all John had to do was say, “There! There He is!” and that’s all it would take. Talk about credibility!
I must say that my heart was shaken when God lit up these verses to me. It was like God was saying, “what kind of voice do you have child?” It made me stop in my tracks.
And what of you? Is your life about making Jesus’ name known? Or yours?
What do people do when you say the name of Jesus? Do you expect them to look at you, or at Him?
How is your credibility?
Oh my friends we must be all about making Jesus’ name known! We must speak only to proclaim the true light of the world. Like John, we must be bold and unreserved, willing to do the hard things.
We must be willing to love.
Willing to reach out with compassionate hands.
Willing to let go of our own agenda and get on His.
We must be willing to cry out with a loud voice and say, “There! There He is!”
