We cannot judge effectiveness [Jn 1]

Jesus Christ said that John the Baptist was the Elijah that was predicted: the Elijah yet to come. That great prophet who turned Israel from the Ba’alim and Asherim. Who would not allow the gods of the region, or spirits of the place.

There was no Gaia, no worship of mountains, no Lares. There was no Genus Familius.

There was only God.

And John turned Israel, again, to their God, and away from the syncretic corruption of Greek and Roman.

But he did not know his significance.

DSC_0221

And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

(Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

(John 1:19-28 ESV)

Yesterday’s sermon discussed how, as beleivers, we have the following realities.

  1. We are weak. We cannot do what we say
  2. We are carelessly inattentive. To the word of God, and to the times we are in
  3. We are foolishly overconfident, ignoring our weaknesses, we place ourselves at risk

Now that is true. Led to an interesting discussion or three.

Screenshot from 2016-01-11 08-21-54

But there is something missing. We don’t know what we do, nor our place in the economy of the kingdom of God. Like John, we do our duty. He was called to Baptize, for he awaited the Christ. He had been called to this. He did not know who he was.

And that is why when he was asked if he was the Elijah to come, he said he was not. He was not told that: he was told what he needed to know. It is Christ himself who gave that witness — and after John had been killed by Herod.

So in this take some hope. We may be struggling. We have difficulties. We grind and plod through the day and do our duty. We do not know what God considers effective.

I have but one thought. It is probably something we do, not something we write.

3 thoughts on “We cannot judge effectiveness [Jn 1]

  1. I needed this today, so today you were wrong – it IS something you wrote.

    Thank you. I don’t know what happens to readers most of the time

  2. What hearthie said; writing is doing something, after all, no less than having a conversation with someone about the Gospel. Writing is a form of witness, for the truth (when we are using it for that purpose).

    Thank you. I note that this place does get mentioned. But I have to act as I talk, and that is a daily challenge

  3. I’ve had the discussion a few times with Christians that a “calling” should be understood as “your Job in the Kingdom, on this Earth”. I phrase it that way mostly due to the abuse of “This is my calling!” that’s utterly common among modern Christians (and, occasionally, among ancient ones). A calling isn’t something you tell others about and explain. It’s what you *do* on top of the expectations the Lord has of Christians in general.

    But a calling is also what the Lord has asked of you. It can be can seem great or small, but you have no ability to understand the impact it can have on others. Nor do you actually need to understand. Do it. Our own vanity is what gets in the way.

    And even if you’re only talking to yourself, learning more of the Lord allows others to reflect on the concepts as well. This is one of the ways the Lord can help bring clarity to someone on the day they need it.

Comments are closed.