By, Tim Irving
Think you can’t be an effective witness for the Lord, then think about John the Baptist. He was not your typical evangelist. He didn’t go where the people were, he preached in the wilderness, and they came to him. He didn’t wear a suit and tie but was clothed in camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. He sounds like a hippie radical, yet the people still came to him. He never exalted himself but kept true to his calling of ” a voice crying in the wilderness. Prepare the way of the Lord. Make His paths straight.” He kept pointing the way to Jesus, and when Jesus came to be baptized by him, he humbly stepped aside and pushed Jesus forward. He didn’t cling to his followers but encouraged them to follow “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” John focused on what he was called to do and what did Jesus say about him? “…among those borne of women there is no greater prophet than John the Baptist.” John pointed to Jesus and Jesus set the examples in all things. John was sent from God and he had a special calling, but so do we! We don’t have to eat honey coated bugs or wear camel haired shorts (although we could), we only have to point people to Jesus, in our own special way. If you are a follower of Jesus, you are a radical to much of the world. Pray that the Lord will help you to radically turn hearts to Him. He made you special, you can touch people like no one else can, so straighten out those fingers and keep pointing to the Lord!