John
the
Baptist had one job and that was to “prepare the way for the Lord”
(Luke
1:76). He did that by
highlighting three
blessings that Jesus would bring.
First,
he
talked about a restored relationship with God. Reunions can be wonderful. In fact, many of you are
looking forward to
the Christmas season because of the reunions that will take place. John said that Jesus would
come, “To give his
people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their
sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God” (verses 77 and 78). Sin separates us from God,
but through his Son,
God gives us a way home.
Next,
John
spoke of Jesus as “The rising sun [who] will come to us from
heaven to
shine on those living in darkness and the shadow of death” (verses
78 and 79). The world can
seem like a dark place, but
Jesus brings the light of hope that allows us to see the beauty
that surrounds us. The
world can be a scary place, but Jesus can
change our world.
Lastly,
John
spoke about how Jesus would “Guide our feet in the path of peace”
(verse
79). One of my favorite
pictures of
Jesus comes from Matthew chapter eight.
He and his friends are in a little boat on the Sea of
Galilee when a
huge storm comes up. His
friends are
scared and they believe that they are going to drown, so they call
out to
Jesus, but he is not worried. In
fact,
he is fast asleep! When he
wakes up, he
asks, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Faith is rooted in the belief
that God is in
control and that there is more going on than what we see or
perceive. One of the best
marks of spiritual maturity,
then, is an attitude of peacefulness.
Our
world
could certainly use some peace, some light and a spiritual
connection to
our heavenly father.
Fortunately,
those blessings,
and many more, are given to us through Jesus, the greatest gift of
all.
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