Bearing witness

Bible verse:
"Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1: 29-34)

Inspiration:
Jesus’ public ministry didn’t begin until He was 30 years old, well past what people in His era would have considered the prime of His life. By that point, those who knew Him best, simply thought of Him as the son of Joseph, the local carpenter. A devout and pious man, who knew His Bible well, Jesus occasionally spoke in the nearby synagogues but it was his charismatic cousin, John, who electrified the crowds.

John spoke with great force and authority about the baptism of repentance, always making clear that someone greater than he would soon come. But it wasn’t until that grace-filled day on the banks of the Jordan River, when the Holy Spirit inspired John, that he got his first inkling of Jesus’ true identity. It must have been difficult initially for John to accept that his younger cousin was also the long-awaited Messiah. But soon John was calling Jesus the Son of God.

There were plenty of naysayers, including some in Jesus’ extended family. But John straightened them out; he spoke loud and clear and in so doing prepared the way for Jesus. 

Like Jesus Himself, many of us took our spiritual path in life with the encouragement and support of someone we respected, a person who saw something special in us and brought it to our attention. The exhorter may have been a parent, teacher, coach, priest or friend, but whoever it was and whatever was said, it brought out the best in us. For the first time, we envisioned the path our lives would take.

There is no way we can ever thank those people enough for what they did for us. The best we can do is follow the example of John the Baptist and point others toward the path that leads to Christ.

Verse of the Day is available as a free web service from BibleGateway.com Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Comments

[Mick]

You are absolutely right, John the Baptist is a man we should emulate. Bringing others to the Lord is one of the most important things we must do while on this Earth.