Thoughts after listening to Mark Driscoll's sermon:Greatest man that ever lived? Perhaps it was because of his tremendous courage and humility. He came entirely as a prophet and pointer to Jesus. He was not even allowed to live for more than a year to do his ministry of calling people to repentance and preparation to encounter their Savior. He knew this purpose so clearly and accepted it so willingly. Somehow a short life like his made a lasting mark. At one time, he had even become more popular than Jesus. But when it came time for his death, it’s like he knew exactly why it had to be that way. I can imagine a kind of peace he must have felt for not wasting a moment of his time or life on something less than challenging people to seek cleansing and forgiveness for their guilt, sin and shame. He knew he was only a voice, not a person of fame or importance. Jesus was all that mattered. His life was a dedicated and surrendered one to God. I am thankful to God for having selected someone like John to be his spokesperson and objector to the authorities of his day. He came with such a simple, yet powerful message and proclaimed it without holding back. He did not care what people thought about him, his appearance or his personality. But it was not a proud, sure of himself indifference. It was that John knew the Christ had come, that his cousin was the Messiah and the only person in the world who could bring lasting healing, forgiveness and restoration of his people was Jesus. That knowledge propelled his action and his boldness. I want the same kind of unshakeable faith and daring. I think about my own future and the many years to come, wondering what on earth I will do for the sake of Jesus. How I can leave a mark, however small, on the people I encounter. Reading about John’s life intensifies my own longing for a life well lived. For a life totally and uncompromisingly focused on Jesus, pointing to him as the only reason worth living at all. That in him, true life is not only possible but everlasting. Less than a year in public ministry, baptizing all who came to him for repentance, and then what? A life cut short by unjust execution. Yet he was fearless and unmoved. What an incredible way to set up the coming of Jesus. How can we serve like John did? Where does God want us to proclaim his Son’s name? How does he want to use our lives for his glory? John the Baptizer lived a simple life that was looked at by others as extreme and crazy. He wasn’t like anybody else, and he didn’t care to be. I can kinda get that. When God speaks into your life and sets you apart from the rest because he wants to use you for a particular reason, it really does not matter at all what that life may look like from the outside. What others think about you, your lifestyle, your career, your opinions become nonissues. Those who are Christians have been equipped with the Word of God and the Spirit of the Lord to carry out an immeasurable amount of work for the sake of Jesus. John did so by screaming at the top of his lungs, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” and having people confess their sins and prepare their hearts for Jesus. What is it that we will cry out in the midst of people? How is it that we will make others uncomfortable without being self-righteously condemning? I think this story of an unusual man with an unprecedented message can shed light on our own lives and mission. Do you want to make a sacrifice for the sake of God’s kingdom and the lost of this world? I do. I want to do as John did in giving up my life for that purpose, making my whole life about that calling and nothing else. Maybe as a “pastor’s kid” John was prepped and destined for his job. His parents did equip him with knowledge of the Scriptures and a sincere heart that loved God. They must have did all they could to ensure his devotion to the Lord, considering their encounter with the angel who foretold John’s special birth and purpose. I didn’t have those kinds of parents and I didn’t have that type of upbringing. And now as a college student I am always asking the question, “God, what do you want for me?” I could follow the temptation to seek only what it is that I want for me, but my stronger desire is to know what He has already predestined this life of mine to be, and then to start walking in that new path alongside Jesus. I still have no idea what these degrees will amount to, or whether God is laughing at my futile efforts to accomplish something. But to be honest, I don’t know what alternative there is, especially in the American system. At least back then, the job of prophet was known and expected. Even after 400 years of no prophet coming, John’s emergence was seen by many as a fulfillment of history. But in the U.S., how is it that we Christians should seek to serve Jesus? I often wonder, what is the best way? Do we just subscribe to the current economic and political system, trying to find small crevices that we can seep into for possible change and renewal? I get the whole humble and just-one-step-at-a-time methodology but when I read John’s story I see historical evidence for something much, much greater. Perhaps he is an anomaly, a once in a very many centuries kind of person. But could you imagine the wakeup call for an entire world if little John the Baptizers emerged all over the place. I think there are a great many out there already, but I dream of a Christianity that ignites its followers with the same spark that fueled the life of John so dramatically and inextinguishably. Could it really become the norm that God’s people would call out for the repentance of mankind without being timid or heartlessly condemning? There are so many people ready to hear Jesus’ message if only speakers would rise up and open their mouths, knowing their own smallness, sinfulness and depravity yet trusting completely in the grace and truth of God the Father, Son and Spirit. A person like my sister is ready to hear the message of good news and salvation, of healing and restored dignity, of washing away of sin and adoption into God’s eternal family. Oh, how my heart aches for my family and friends to know the power and love of Jesus Christ. But how will they ever be reached if my mouth remains closed and God’s transforming message remains hidden. Thanks be to God for a man like John the Baptizer! Thank you, Lord, for showing me the lives of great men who knew that it was not they who were great but you alone. Help me to walk in that kind of humility not just in moments where I may face recognition, but in every kind of confrontation and experience. I plead for more of your Holy Spirit to speak into my heart and mind, to teach me through your Word and to equip me with the tools I will undoubtedly need in the future. Remind me of my deep need for you in my life, Jesus. Open up paths for me to share this amazing hope I have in you.Forgive me for the ways I have fallen short and sinned. Baptize me again with your refining fire that allows true cleansing and new life. Squash this pride that wells up in me so that I too may genuinely declare that I am unworthy to untie the sandals of my Lord. May all praise and glory reside in you, Jesus. I write this from a meager, broken heart to the one pure and holy Love.
