Fruit? John was all about fruit. Yes, I know. He’s the creator of the locusts and wild honey diet craze of the first century – an early precursor of the Adkins diet (there’s no carbs in locusts are there?) No, we’re not talking grapes and apples and figs. We’re talking about a different kind of fruit altogether.
Luke’s account of John the Baptizer gives us a broader understanding of what John taught the crowds of people who were making their way out to hear him in the desert. They heard about the kingdom of heaven being near (Matthew 3:2) and the summary of his message - according to Luke - is that he preached a “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” There’s that word “repent” again. John keeps bringing it up. His assessment of the human condition goes like this – we are ALL sinners who need to turn away from our sin and turn toward the God of forgiveness. There is no doubt that John’s message was that we can’t make up for the sins we’ve committed against God or our fellow human inhabitants of planet Earth. The only hope we have is in a God who can forgive us and give us a new beginning. That’s what this baptism of repentance for forgiveness is all about.
But the whole fruit thing grows from a simple question to be asked after all of this. That simple question is: “SO NOW WHAT?” John knew that this Good News he was bringing to the people he was sent to prepare, is more than a simple vacuuming of the guilty conscience or a simple pat-on-the-back to those who are discouraged by their moral failures. It is a complete change of life through a connection to the One who is the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”
So now what? That’s a legitimate question and John heard it asked over and over again. If you are to summarize his response, it goes something like this. Now that you have experienced the forgiveness and new life given to you by God, your life is meant to be lived differently. John then gives some pretty straight-forward answers to the people who were asking. If we were to look for the common threads in them, the first thing he talks about is being more giving in our lives (for example, the one with two tunics – give one away). The second area he addresses is refusing to misuse or abuse with the power you’ve been given in your life (i.e. for the tax collector only collecting the required taxes, and for the soldiers refusing to exhort money or more from the people who are helpless to defend themselves from them). I’m sure this wasn’t the extent of the examples, but in my estimation, being more giving and content instead of greedy and abusing our power or position (hey, like maybe offering a senatorial position to the highest bidder?) is pretty huge.
So now what? I guess it comes down to this: to have a “John the Baptist” Christmas is to bear some fruit in this season and all the seasons to come. It may be the middle of winter, but the growing season is year long with this kind of fruit. These life changes don’t come so that we can earn a spot in that kingdom of heaven, or so we can brag about the fruit we’re producing, but only because John is pointing us to the One who is “the firstfruits” of all who live forever with Him (I Corinthians 15:20).
Luke’s account of John the Baptizer gives us a broader understanding of what John taught the crowds of people who were making their way out to hear him in the desert. They heard about the kingdom of heaven being near (Matthew 3:2) and the summary of his message - according to Luke - is that he preached a “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” There’s that word “repent” again. John keeps bringing it up. His assessment of the human condition goes like this – we are ALL sinners who need to turn away from our sin and turn toward the God of forgiveness. There is no doubt that John’s message was that we can’t make up for the sins we’ve committed against God or our fellow human inhabitants of planet Earth. The only hope we have is in a God who can forgive us and give us a new beginning. That’s what this baptism of repentance for forgiveness is all about.
But the whole fruit thing grows from a simple question to be asked after all of this. That simple question is: “SO NOW WHAT?” John knew that this Good News he was bringing to the people he was sent to prepare, is more than a simple vacuuming of the guilty conscience or a simple pat-on-the-back to those who are discouraged by their moral failures. It is a complete change of life through a connection to the One who is the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”
So now what? That’s a legitimate question and John heard it asked over and over again. If you are to summarize his response, it goes something like this. Now that you have experienced the forgiveness and new life given to you by God, your life is meant to be lived differently. John then gives some pretty straight-forward answers to the people who were asking. If we were to look for the common threads in them, the first thing he talks about is being more giving in our lives (for example, the one with two tunics – give one away). The second area he addresses is refusing to misuse or abuse with the power you’ve been given in your life (i.e. for the tax collector only collecting the required taxes, and for the soldiers refusing to exhort money or more from the people who are helpless to defend themselves from them). I’m sure this wasn’t the extent of the examples, but in my estimation, being more giving and content instead of greedy and abusing our power or position (hey, like maybe offering a senatorial position to the highest bidder?) is pretty huge.
So now what? I guess it comes down to this: to have a “John the Baptist” Christmas is to bear some fruit in this season and all the seasons to come. It may be the middle of winter, but the growing season is year long with this kind of fruit. These life changes don’t come so that we can earn a spot in that kingdom of heaven, or so we can brag about the fruit we’re producing, but only because John is pointing us to the One who is “the firstfruits” of all who live forever with Him (I Corinthians 15:20).
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1 comment:
"It may be the middle of winter, but the growing season is year long with this kind of fruit."
What a simple yet so amazingly true statement! Though many are being reminded to turn their faces toward God in celebration of Christmas, it's in our continuing to grow in our relationship with Christ and in giving beyond the "season" that is truly honoring to Him. He brought his son Jesus Christ here to earth, to open our eyes, to teach us...to save us. In celebrating the birth of the sweet baby Jesus we as Christians are given yet another opportunity to draw attention towards him. Perhaps opening the eyes and heart of another to seek Him ALL THE SEASONS OF THEIR LIFE...not just for the holiday or in passing, but to connect on a daily basis with Him, to feel His presence in their life, and to share in his gift of eternal life.
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