Today’s Readings: Psalm 146; Hosea 6:11-7:7; Matthew 11:2-10; Revelation 2:2-7; Psalm 145
As I read today’s Gospel passage from Matthew, I was reminded that one of my role models in life is John the Baptist. There are two reasons why I say this. First, John had an amazingly clear sense of call. The clarity of his call made it impossible for him to veer off track in life. This leads directly to the second thing I admire about him: he had an absolute sense of humility that kept him grounded. He was never seduced by the public’s enthusiastic response to his ministry in the desert and started to think more of himself than he should. No, he always knew Someone greater was coming along behind him and that his call was to prepare the way for that Someone. The more I think about these two characteristics of John – a clear sense of call and a strong sense of humility – the more I realize how closely related they are. Folks who have a healthy sense of self-esteem know who they are and are comfortable living into that sense of self; they have no need to try to pass themselves off as something they are not. A profound sense of humility goes hand in hand with that sense of self. Using John the Baptist as a yardstick, I would ask you where you are at with you call and your sense of self. Have you prayerfully embraced your call and developed a healthy sense of self as you have live out that call; are you still struggling on your own to establish an identity that may (or may not) be the person God is calling you to be; or are you somewhere between those two places? As someone who is locate somewhere between the poles myself, my prayer for today is that God would continue to work with us as we grow into a stronger sense of both call and of self. Til next time…
As I read today’s Gospel passage from Matthew, I was reminded that one of my role models in life is John the Baptist. There are two reasons why I say this. First, John had an amazingly clear sense of call. The clarity of his call made it impossible for him to veer off track in life. This leads directly to the second thing I admire about him: he had an absolute sense of humility that kept him grounded. He was never seduced by the public’s enthusiastic response to his ministry in the desert and started to think more of himself than he should. No, he always knew Someone greater was coming along behind him and that his call was to prepare the way for that Someone. The more I think about these two characteristics of John – a clear sense of call and a strong sense of humility – the more I realize how closely related they are. Folks who have a healthy sense of self-esteem know who they are and are comfortable living into that sense of self; they have no need to try to pass themselves off as something they are not. A profound sense of humility goes hand in hand with that sense of self. Using John the Baptist as a yardstick, I would ask you where you are at with you call and your sense of self. Have you prayerfully embraced your call and developed a healthy sense of self as you have live out that call; are you still struggling on your own to establish an identity that may (or may not) be the person God is calling you to be; or are you somewhere between those two places? As someone who is locate somewhere between the poles myself, my prayer for today is that God would continue to work with us as we grow into a stronger sense of both call and of self. Til next time…
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