Identity!

Identity!

The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. John 1:29 KJV

The Context:

John the Baptist came on the Jewish scene with a bang; no prior warning, no malice aforethought. He simply came on and started preaching. The people knew he was the son of one of their priests, Zechariah, so it must have been some shock and surprise to see him buck the trend. He was not interested in following his father's footsteps, at least, not in the way they all expected. I read the context of today's extract and I read where the priests and Levites: specific people who 'should know' where he fit came to ask him: "Who are you"? Oh, that is a question we all must answer to at some point in time in our lives. 

Am I content with following the crowd or ticking the boxes that had been drawn for me, even before I was born? Can people easily sway me from my path, simply because of the strength of a 'better argument'? John knew his calling, and he was laser-focused on it. It didn't matter if there were better options out there; God will bring my way all the people who need to hear what God has to say, if I am where God wants me to be. It is His Word, His world, his creation and his platform. My identity must be clearly defined from my personal experience of Jesus. Every other definition is temporal, of this world, and is fleeting. It will not last. 

The Message:

As you look at the life of John the Baptist, you see clearly that he knew who he was and what his assignment was. The priests and Levites of his day must have thought that he was the fulfillment of all that they read in the scrolls about a coming Messiah. They saw signs of something different, maybe even threatening to their own work, and they wanted to know who John was. John's response shows that he knew what their problem was: they simply just wanted to know how much of a threat he was to them. He told them very clearly: I am not the Christ. I know who I am and what I have been sent to do. For me, can my life's direction be this clear that nobody, no matter how influential or powerful, can sway me off it? The priests and Levites wanted an answer to his identity, because they needed an answer for those who had sent them in the first place. Nothing, nobody and no situation should be able to distract me from all I know God wants from me. Popular opinion, human applause and even the disapproval of men are all slippery slopes that I must avoid if I will be all that God intends. 

John knew who he was, but he also knew who his walk with and work for were about. He also knew who was coming and where he fit in the plans of the one who was coming. If he had no idea what was ahead, there was no way today's extract would read the way it did. This was the first time John would be seeing Jesus, yet he immediately recognised him, as well as his purpose, mission and assignment. Do I know why Jesus has come? Has my life embraced that purpose? 

Jesus came to take away the sins of the world. Everything he taught and the miracles he performed all further underlined his purpose: the salvation of all men from the power of sin. No matter what I know about Jesus, I must embrace that purpose and it must be real in my life. It is not about active membership of a local church but about the Christ of the church knowing that I am his. It is not about people just calling me a Christian, but that the Christ of the church knows that I belong to him and have accepted him as my Lord and Saviour. He has to be both, as that is the complete package he came to offer. As the Lamb of God, he went to the cross willingly, giving his life so he could become the channel of salvation for all who will come to him. 

The Response:

You cannot take the benefits of his identity in bits; you have to embrace the full package. Like John, I must know who I have been asked to believe and must accept him as he presents himself to me, not the way I think he should be. I must be prepared to defend my knowledge and experience of him before men like me. Men will come with ulterior and pure motives, but my vision must be so clear that it is fixed on the one who has called me to himself, saved me, asked me to walk with him and then sent me out at his own command. It is not about me, but about Him. My life must point to him and him alone. 

Am I truly saved then? Are you? Is my life a daily pointer to Jesus, so that he shines out of me daily? Can men see his imprint in and on me, or do I need to shout to make myself heard? These are questions that need answers, because eternity lies at the end of them. While I still have time, I must answer them the right way so that I can secure eternal life. His time of favour is here.