John

 "There was a man from the desert with naps in his head
The sand that he walked was also his bed
The words that he spoke made the people assume
There wasn't too much left in the upper room

With skins on his back and hair on his face
They thought he was strange by the locusts he ate
You see the Pharisees tripped when they heard him speak
Until the king took the head of this Jesus freak"

 

Last Sunday, the sermon was about John the Baptist and the baptism of Jesus.  As I listened, I realized that John had a pretty good thing going.  He had a devoted following, he was a celebrity, he was also counter cultural enough that the king himself felt threatened by his popularity.   All in all John had a pretty sweet gig.

Yet, John's message was,“After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”.    

 

As I thought about this I realized something.  I realized that I (we) should probably be more like John.  That we should realize that our call to emulate Jesus, doesn't mean we have the authority of Jesus.  That our call to emulate Jesus is designed to draw attention to Jesus, and not to us.  

Just maybe we should practice a little more of the humility that John demonstrates.