Mark 1:1-3 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; (2) As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. (3) The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
I have heard it said most of my life, especially as it pertains to the giving of money, that God does not NEED anything from man. From the aspect that God has eternal power at his disposal – that he was able to speak into existence the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1) that is certainly true. From the aspect that God can manipulate things so that his will is done under any circumstances....again that is true. (Ex 32:7-14) But that does not change the fact that God uses ordinary, every-day people to carry out his will. And for that reason, God DOES need us!
In our text today, we have the introduction of John the Baptist. Talk about your every-day kind of guy...but ordinary he wasn’t! He did not have a ‘fancy’ degree. He was not considered a religious leader of his day. In fact, the religious leaders of his day were intimidated by his message. With that said, this run-of-the-mill guy served a critical role in the success of Jesus. He was to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord!
In a similar manner, there is a critical role that each of us can and must play. I would think that it is every bit as important as the role that John the Baptist served. We each are to continue the mission that Jesus started. The final words, according to Matthew’s account, to Jesus’ closest followers was about perpetuating his mission that he had started.
Matthew 28:19-20 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: (20) Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Every single follower, in the history of Christianity, falls into this mission. Therefore, we are taught to follow, then we should also be taught to teach and to keep the duplication process going. In some ways, this reminds me of the modern day network marketing system. Teach. Teach them to teach. Teach all of them to teach. And so on and so on!
Someone might say: “What difference does it make if I don’t follow this system..there are so many other people that could teach instead?” I do think that a lot of people feel this way. There are two predominate reasons why this attitude is flawed.
1. What if everyone....or even most people had this attitude? Well, that question is largely rhetorical. The system would obviously collapse. The fact is, christianity is described in the Bible as a human body in 1 Cor. 12:12-26. Each person is a part of the body. Some are eyes. Some are ears. Some are hands, feet, vital organs and so on. Paul describes this illustration as each member being essential for the effective and efficient function of the body as a whole. If the one part of the body is injured, the whole body suffers.
2. The Top will survive, the bottom will wither and die. In network marketing, if a person down the line quits, the people on the top of the chart will continue to make their money, but the people below are the ones that suffer. Along this way of thinking, we need to understand that each of us are connected to people that other Christians may not be. If we do not positively effect them and teach them the truth they may never run across another person that can or will. God’s plan will still be ultimately carried out, but the people that we, individually, could reach, may be lost due to our apathy.
So from that perspective, yes God does NEED us. God needs us and the Lost needs us. Won’t you be the member of the body that you were called to be? Won’t you do your part in fulfilling the mission of Jesus?
Reflecting His SON,
Dennis Hogan
Minister, North Hardin Church of Christ
1804 Sam Stewart Dr.
Radcliff, KY 40160
Questions, comments or further explanation? Contact me at: dennis.hogan@icloud.com
If you have friends, family, or acquaintances that you feel could benefit from RTS, please forward
their e-mail address to me and I will add them to my mail list.
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