April 2 - A Man Sent From God

April 2 – A Man Sent From God

There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. (John 1:6-13)

Do you have those people in your life that always seem to outshine you?  No matter how successful or happy you are – their lives seem to be that much better.  If you have a great life – theirs is fabulous!

John’s was his cousin and yet, it never occurred to him to be jealous or worried about his own place in life.  All that he was, all that he had, all that he ever wanted to be was used by God to proclaim the coming of the Messiah.

He never wanted to be the light of the world.  All John wanted was for people to listen to him as he proclaimed the coming of the One who was the Word of God – the Logos, the Word of Creation, the Light that shines in the darkness.

John’s life would be cut short by an evil man (Herod), but before that happened, he fulfilled his purpose in life – to proclaim the coming of the Messiah.

As crazy as it might sound in today’s culture, that is also our purpose, though we seem to have lost sight of it.  We are to proclaim the message of the Messiah, the Gospel (Good News) of Jesus Christ in our own lives.  We are to be the messenger to today’s world.