Unwrapping Christmas - Viewing the Nativity Through Luke's EyesSample

Day 7

But the angel said to him… “your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, And you shall call his name John”  Luke 1:13

If you are a parent or plan to be someday, and your daughter brought home her boyfriend resembling the character and personality of John the Baptist, well, you might have second thoughts. You might not care for his boldness, his audacity, his honesty, and quite frankly, the way he dressed.

John the Baptist comes on the scene of the Scriptures to announce the coming of the Lord. He was no people-pleaser or soft-spoken prophet. Like the Old Testament Elijah, John called life as he saw it through a prophet’s lens. Things were black and white – with few soft edges or gray areas.

Zach and Elizabeth were blessed with a child filled with the power and grace of the Holy Spirit from the womb who would turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord. Living off the land, no one was exempt from hearing John’s voice. He called out the stagnancy of religion without a relationship with God. He denounced prideful religious leaders. All the while, he would melt hearts of stone and bring to repentance those who had strayed from the Father who lavishly loved them.

John appears briefly on the pages of God’s Word, but he boldly impacts our lives. He lived solely for God’s purposes and to fulfill His mandate. John didn’t look to the left or right, nor did he succumb to the pressure of the current culture. This prophet only looked upward for the next message to preach and the next action to take. He lived lowly in the world’s eyes, shunning notoriety, to instead exalt and lift high Jesus the Christ. He declared the Holy Spirit’s coming power in a believer’s life, and he got the people ready. Ready for Jesus to come. 

May we do the same.