“He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” – John 1:27
Knowing Christ should provoke extreme humility and complete confidence simultaneously. When the Jewish leaders of the day asked John the Baptist who he was he made clear to them that he was not the Messiah, he was not a prophet, he was not Elijah returned, He was, “the voice of the one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make[ing] straight the way for the Lord,’” (John 1:21-23). Although John lived a life of great human sacrifice for the Lord; living in homelessness and obscurity awaiting the coming of the Savior, and being imprisoned and beheaded once the Savior came, he did not falsely exalt himself with entitled thoughts of what HE had done for the Lord (Matt. 3:4, 14:1-13). He deemed himself unworthy to untie the sandals of the Savior Jesus (John 1:27). He did not understand how he should be the one baptizing Jesus, knowing that it is he who should be baptized for it is through Christ that salvation came to the world (Matt. 3:14, John 3:16). “But John tried to deter him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” (Matt. 3:14).
John knew that He was not the center of the story. Yes, even in his own life he was not the main character. Not only was John humble when the Savior Jesus came, regardless of him dedicating his life to the Savior’s coming, he was also humble in his role once Jesus had come into the scene. In his humanity, it would have been easy for John to baptize Jesus and then expect to be brought alongside Jesus in His earthly ministry. It would have been easy to expect to be made a disciple and continue to help in his service to the Lord walking right by His side, but that is not John’s story. John’s story does not end with exaltation in the way he could have pictured. John’s life on earth ended with imprisonment from a wicked government leader, Herod, and being beheaded because of the desire of a young girl and an oath made to grant her whatever she asked (Matt. 14:1-12).
When we as Christians today profess our faith in Jesus; that He is the Son of God who always has been and forever will be, that He came to earth to save mankind, that His work on the cross completely accounted for all of our sins, that it is by His abundant grace that we are saved and not of our own doing, that because of His abundant grace He calls us His beloved children and promises us eternity in Heaven with Him, let us not make the mistake of misunderstanding who is at the center of our story. Let us not falsely exalt ourselves to the main character of our own lives. Let us not fall into the temptation of entitlement and expectation. Let us fall on our knees in humility before our all-powerful God who has sent His Son to save us and let us boldly walk this earth in confidence living out our salvation.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, it is truly all about You. Thank you for loving us, saving us, and welcoming us into Your kingdom. Help us to live humbly and confidently, knowing our lives are all about You and that it is You who qualified us as sons and daughters.
Susanville Christian Fellowship 