For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1:17)
EVER HAVE ANYONE QUESTION YOU? Has anyone ever asked you why you were doing what you were doing? No doubt we all have times in our lives when we are put on the spot. John the Baptist made some bold statements that stirred people into asking some pretty stern questions. The Pharisees thought he was the Messiah. He quickly “confessed freely, ‘I am not the Christ'” nor a prophet nor Elijah. The Pharisees were asking the wrong question. They were asking, “Who,” when the question they should have been asking was “Why?” John the Baptist did not come to be known, but to make known the coming of Christ. For He is the one who brings “grace and truth” and makes it possible for us to have a relationship with God the Father. John’s position should be very similar to the position of all Christians. We are not here to be known, but to help others know who Christ is and that He is returning.
“Who are you?” they would ask, pressing in on John. “I am the voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.'” It does not matter who you are, but who you represent. Your name is not important, but the name of Christ is. Christian is your name, and it’s time the people around you knew why.
Meditate on how you can live in a way that points others to Christ.
Scott Simmons is the author of iFollow: Connecting Belief and Behavior to Who You Are in Christ (WPH) and the youth ministry movement director for The Wesleyan Church.
