“Tell John what you have seen and heard,; the blind can see, the lame can walk…Good News is preached to the poor.” From John 1
John the Baptist is an interesting Biblical character. He gets the reputation of being a rugged, stinky, rough riding evangelist who eats bugs. He isn’t the kind of person I might give much credence to if I were to hear him, in fact I may reject him altogether because he is so different than me. I think sometimes we miss seeing his true character with this limited description.
John looked for something different in life. He preferred to sleep under the stars rather than in town. He envisioned God in the splendor of the mountains, in the wind of the desert, in the openness of the night sky. He saw people as creatures needing redeeming, fully separated from God by what most seek as pleasures of the flesh, as opposed to pleasures of the soul. He called people to follow a new road, a holy calling, a sacred path and to surrender everything.
I think if we were to talk to John now we would find a passionate man with a quiet soul, a voice of wisdom and a humbleness of spirit. This is what Jesus saw in his cousin, the one he came to for baptism into his life and ministry. He knew that despite his outer appearance, despite his self doubt, John had seen the face of God in his searching for truth, and Jesus saw a purity of faith in him that was a perfect launch for his ministry to God’s people.
John saw that Jesus was “the real thing”. Many listened to him. Would we today? I don’t know. I think that we often reject those who don’t fit the norm of our society and tend to listen to people who are more like us. It’s important to consider what those who are different than us say about their faith, their experience with God. It may just be that God is using those who don’t fit the mold to show us a side of Christ we wouldn’t see otherwise.
Be open to hear the voice of God through all the people God puts into your life. You may find a prophet among them.
