Daily Light from the Lighthouse
"This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
Matthew 3:17
A life lived for 30 years with one purpose: to prepare the way for the Messiah. Every thing else in life was a trivial pursuit compared to this. Somehow even in his mother's womb there was a knowledge of who the Christ was. There was also a joy in knowing Him. John the Baptist lived in anticipation of seeing the fulfillment of Christ and His day. He had separated himself from the religious crowd, because they sought their own kingdom. He was looking for a kingdom not made by earthly hands. This life had not been an easy one. He sought for none of the comforts that this world offered, but chose instead to live a simple life that would be free of distractions from his purpose. If that meant eating bugs and honey, then so be it. He lived only for the sake of the call!
One day, the moment he had always anticipated came. As he was preaching and baptizing, Jesus, the Messiah, stood before him. There was a silent acknowledgment between the two of them that the time of Jesus' earthly ministry and the beginning of His kingdom had come. The unexpected twist came when Jesus asked John to baptize Him. After some explanation John consented and placed the Lamb of God under the water then raised Him up. At that moment the Godhead in its entirety manifested the glory of the Almighty. The Son stood with water dripping off His beard and watched as the Spirit of God swept down upon Him, then the voice of the Father shook heaven and earth.
As we look away from the glory for a moment we see the servant John standing next to Jesus with tears flowing down his cheeks and glory in his eyes. All of the sneers and scornful comments that he had received for his eccentric ways were forgotten. The barbs and stings that had been hurled at him from the religious crowd all of these years did not matter at this moment. A life spent in the wilderness preaching by faith what no one else could see was more than worth it now. When the fulfillment of God's promise comes, all of the negatives are forgotten as if they never existed.
Believers will face scorn from the ones they love; they will face insults from a world that knows not God. Any individual that chooses to walk with Jesus and therefore chooses to walk away from religion will be called every thing from liberal to self-righteous. In the flesh these words will sting, but when the fulfillment of God's promise comes at that eternal day they will all be forgotten. Living for Christ is what is well pleasing to the Father and all that really matters.
May you live for the sake of the call today!
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