A man named John…
Today has been more of full of highs and lows than I really know how to deal with. I have had so much fun and so many surprises…and more sad and tired moments than I would have liked. I feel like today, contained more “day” than any 24 hour period has the right…such is life in college.
Anyway…this morning, in one of my classes, we talked about “John the Baptist” and I realized some things that truly rocked my world.
Here’s what I’ve got…
So, John the Baptist was pretty much a big deal…
He was the messenger sent before Jesus to prepare the world for his ministry.
His life had been prophesied about for thousands of years.
He actually got to baptize the son of God.
He was miraculously conceived.
He brought about a revolution in Israel, and brought a lot of people into the kingdom of God.
Even Jesus, the Messiah, said that no one who had ever been born was greater than him (Matthew 11:11)
All of this to say…that John the Baptist is unarguably one of the most important people ever to grace this planet.
I knew all of this before I got up this morning…but something new caught my attention today
This verse: There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John (John 1:6)
What caught my attention here is the fact that John didn’t come with any hoopla. His introduction here does not involve trumpets, angels and dancing fairies…it simply says that John was a man from God. He has no title, and no dramatic into…he is just John.
What is so incredible about this is the fact that first of all, God actually chose John’s (John 1:62).
God commanded John’s parents to give him his name…God picked John’s name before his birth!
That in itself is not totally unique-but the cool thing about John’s name was the fact that his name was so average! It was not an off the wall “look at me” name, it was an average Joe name…like Joe!
The thing that I am getting at is the fact that God wanted John to be someone who drew attention to himself—he was simply “A man named John”
I think that we have a lot to learn from this—especially those of us who seek to lead or teach. We are often given labels and nametags that identify the titles or the jobs that we carry. It is easy for us to become wrapped up in those labels and to forget that we were simply called to live as ourselves and to serve God moment by moment and day by day. I may “be” many things and carry many positions…but to God, I am simply “A Girl Named Becky.”
Today has been more of full of highs and lows than I really know how to deal with. I have had so much fun and so many surprises…and more sad and tired moments than I would have liked. I feel like today, contained more “day” than any 24 hour period has the right…such is life in college.
Anyway…this morning, in one of my classes, we talked about “John the Baptist” and I realized some things that truly rocked my world.
Here’s what I’ve got…
So, John the Baptist was pretty much a big deal…
He was the messenger sent before Jesus to prepare the world for his ministry.
His life had been prophesied about for thousands of years.
He actually got to baptize the son of God.
He was miraculously conceived.
He brought about a revolution in Israel, and brought a lot of people into the kingdom of God.
Even Jesus, the Messiah, said that no one who had ever been born was greater than him (Matthew 11:11)
All of this to say…that John the Baptist is unarguably one of the most important people ever to grace this planet.
I knew all of this before I got up this morning…but something new caught my attention today
This verse: There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John (John 1:6)
What caught my attention here is the fact that John didn’t come with any hoopla. His introduction here does not involve trumpets, angels and dancing fairies…it simply says that John was a man from God. He has no title, and no dramatic into…he is just John.
What is so incredible about this is the fact that first of all, God actually chose John’s (John 1:62).
God commanded John’s parents to give him his name…God picked John’s name before his birth!
That in itself is not totally unique-but the cool thing about John’s name was the fact that his name was so average! It was not an off the wall “look at me” name, it was an average Joe name…like Joe!
The thing that I am getting at is the fact that God wanted John to be someone who drew attention to himself—he was simply “A man named John”
I think that we have a lot to learn from this—especially those of us who seek to lead or teach. We are often given labels and nametags that identify the titles or the jobs that we carry. It is easy for us to become wrapped up in those labels and to forget that we were simply called to live as ourselves and to serve God moment by moment and day by day. I may “be” many things and carry many positions…but to God, I am simply “A Girl Named Becky.”
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