HIS PURPOSE, NOT MINE

His Purpose, Not Mine

This messenger was John the Baptist. He lived in the wilderness and was preaching that people should be baptized to show that they had turned from their sins and turned to God to be forgiven.Mark 1:4

John the Baptist’s camel-hair cloak should not be confused with the luxurious, woven garments found in upscale stores today. His was most likely a tanned, hairy hide held together with a leather belt. He did not preach in the comfort of a temple but baptized in the stark setting of the wilderness. He was well known for his not-so-gentle speeches. His diet was meager, consisting of locusts and wild honey. Though these facts alone set John apart from other religious men, it was his single-minded dedication to his calling that etched his name in history. John never forgot his purpose. When John’s disciples left to follow Jesus, his loyal friends complained bitterly, yet John assured them that this was exactly what he hoped would happen. He wanted to decrease so that Christ could increase. His whole mission in life was to point the way to Jesus. When God gives us a particular ministry, it is easy to assume ownership. We birth it. We pray over it. Yet our calling was never ours in the first place. Just like John the Baptist’s, our purpose is to point others to Christ, not to ourselves.

LORD, thank you for the ministry you have entrusted to me. If others praise me, help me to remember that my one purpose should be that your gospel is proclaimed and you are exalted. In everything I do, may I be a stepping-stone instead of a stumbling block so that others may come to know you as Savior and Lord.

OUR METHOD OF PROCLAIMING SALVATION IS THIS: TO POINT OUT TO EVERY HEART THE LOVING LAMB, WHO DIED FOR US, AND ALTHOUGH HE WAS THE SON OF GOD, OFFERED HIMSELF FOR OUR SINS.Count Nikolaus von Zinzendorf (1700–1760)