Unworthy heralds!
Verse for Today: Friday, April 19, 2013
John 1:27 – He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.
Man is characteristically boastful about his self-worth. He thinks highly about his abilities, qualifications and accomplishments in comparison with others and tries to establish his superiority. But a person who has truly known God in His greatness will only be able to see own unworthiness. In order to see God in His power and strength, one has to have his eyes opened by God. When our spiritual eyes are blind, we will not be able to see the greatness of God and others. John the baptizer was a great man who was filled with the Spirit even before his birth. He had the privilege to be God’s messenger and the forerunner of Jesus to announce the arrival of the Kingdom of God. He was appointed to introduce Jesus to the world. When he saw Jesus, he realized his unworthiness. He had no hesitation to confess his lowliness publicly. In the light of the glory of Jesus, John acknowledged his nothingness. He was like a moon in the presence of the Sun (Son) of Righteousness. John had the grace to acknowledge his lowliness before the greatness of Jesus. He wanted Jesus to be exalted and him abased. It was all possible because John knew who he was and what he was worth. It is only when we are unable to see ourselves that we boast and express pride in our dealings with others. Today we have the privilege to see Jesus in His glory and live as His unworthy servants. When we see Jesus, we become so insignificant and unimportant in our perspective and fall prostrate and worship Him. Such an attitude will help us to serve Him without any earthly expectations or desires other than His glory. Thus when we serve Him, He will care for us and lead us victoriously in our service for Him.
Dear friend, do you ever get overwhelmed about your qualifications and expertise as you serve God? Is your heart becoming boastful about your accomplishments? Do you expect recognition, appreciation, position, prestige and prominence as you serve God? Today God wants to challenge you through John the baptizer who was willing to expose his nothingness and proclaim the greatness of Jesus. John was willing to lead an obscure life, rejecting all the comforts the world offered. He felt that he was called only to be the herald of Jesus. He was fully satisfied with being an announcer of the Kingdom and was always mindful of his unworthiness. He served God without favor and boldly preached the truth. His commitment was seen in his approach to sin in the life of people of his generation. He didn’t expect anything in return for his services for God and remained in the background to proclaim the glory of Jesus. His preaching was so powerful as to bring people of all walks of life to repentance. The messages he preached were full of godliness. He was willing to acknowledge the power of Jesus publicly. He declared his unworthiness boldly in front of people. He emulated Joseph and Daniel who gave full credit for the interpretation of dreams to God and expressed their unworthiness and disqualifications before the higher-ups. Paul kept telling people that his messages were from above. David sang about his encounters with God. His demeanor was that of a man after God’s own heart. God used these servants mightily because of their utter humility and brokenness. As they made their unworthy lives available to God unconditionally, they were granted the privilege to be servants of the Almighty. Today He is willing to make us His servants if we are willing to be broken and declare our unworthiness to Him.
Luke 17:10 – So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’
Thought for Today
When we look at ourselves through God’s eyes, we will see how small we are and how great He really is.
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