How would you like to have been John the Baptist? You can almost hear the voice now, “Your mission, should you accept it, is to be the frontrunner for the Son of God, the Messiah, the One that your countrymen have awaited for many generations.” It wasn’t quite like that, but nonetheless, the awesomeness of that responsibility must have caused John quite a bit of thought as he spent time thinking and meditating in the desert. His job was to stir up an entire nation, a country filled with religion, people who on an average knew more about God by the time they were twelve years of age than the gentile world knew in their whole lives.
How did John accomplish his mission? He preached the Word. He called people to repent. He pointed out the sins of the people and told them to live righteously. He didn’t compromise. He refused to be quiet even when his life was on the line from the King. He feared God and no one else.
So what’s the difference between John the Baptist and us today? He had a calling which was unique in many regards, but are we not frontrunners for Christ? Isn’t it our job to live, preach and stand in such a way that people will be ready to hear the message of Jesus? Now John the Baptist is standing with the throng in heaven, the great cloud of witnesses, saying, “If I can do it, so can you! Go for it!”
