John the Baptist was a voice of one calling in the wilderness, a voice with a true message that would point towards the very living God for generations to come. He was a voice with power and authority, wisdom and revelation, a voice with a purpose and goal. That voice made a way for the savior of the earth. Why was John entrusted with this great deed? What did John have that empowered him to stay true and steady in his life? John had the living word of God dwelling on the inside, a true revelation of Jesus Christ as savior, king, bridegroom, and judge, and John was in love.
I love John the Baptist, not because he’s a famous bible character, but because he led a life worthy of Jesus, before he even knew Him. Isn’t that weird? John knew that Jesus was the messiah before He was even born. John was a true prophet to be able to hear the voice of the Lord so clearly and to be so confident in his hope of the Messiah.
As much as looking at John the Baptist and how he led a great life to set an example for us today, he always told us not to look at him, but at Jesus. His message was a message of self-denial and that is the way to prepare for the Lord’s coming. Today our culture is anything but one of self-denial, and it seems like it’s harder than ever to deny the pleasures of this world in order to find the higher pleasures that are seated at the right hand of God, but John is a clear picture that it’s possible, and more importantly, that it’s worth it.
I want to apply John the Baptist’s method of Christianity to my life. I know that’s a dangerous prayer to pray, but it’s only the world that makes it sound scary. It’s only the television-substance-internet-cellphone epidemic that we’ve been brought up in that makes an abandoned life to Christ seem so unreachable, undesirable. But if we can catch the same vision that John had for eternity and joy everlasting today, then we can surely have the confidence and faith to live our lives in the same fashion that John did.
So how can we practically look like a current day John the Baptist? By doing what Jesus said and taking up our cross, dying to ourselves, daily. John wasn’t out for the attention of others, although his lifestyle alone drew attention. John was out for the exaltation of the Son of God. If it is our goal to do the same, which I know is in my heart, then why do we keep turning to every other thing but the glory of God? Why do we keep watching movies that don’t exalt Jesus? Why do we keep watching secular television shows that even mock our God? Can a mouth speak forth fresh water and saltwater both? In the same way can our eyes be set upon a throne on heaven and immorality at the same time? No. And we wonder why we can’t see His face. We struggle with our sin, yet open up our spirits to the world and to the very root that triggers our sin.
Jesus said to live in the world, but not to be a part of it. So the answer is simple, completely separate yourself from anything that Jesus is against. I would say that not all things are bad, not all shows are bad, but what could we achieve if we totally did separate ourselves to those things? We need to get a spirit of discernment and be able to see clearly what’s in our lives that we need to stop doing. John was radical, so we can be too. I want to separate myself from the world, but I know that it’s hard. It’s hard because I don’t always feel Jesus, I don’t always even want to feel Jesus, but then I look at people like John and think, what in the world was it that he touched that made him never want to turn back? It’s that glory of God that we need to touch, and the only way that God will allow us to enter into that is by truly going after it.
God is worth our all. We already have promised to love Him with all our hearts, soul, mind, and strength so let’s actually do it. I want to be the modern day John the Baptist, preparing the way of Jesus Christ and His return to earth which is coming soon. I want to preach Jesus! I want to give my all and leave what I have on the earth for this life is but a moment. There are many rewards we can earn by the things we do on this side of eternity, but there is only one reward that I’m striving for, and that’s Jesus.
