October 22nd

“Are You the One?”

            When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”  Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see:  the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.  And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”

Matthew 11:2-6

             You would think that if there was anyone who did not need convincing about the truth of Jesus’ identity, it would have been John the Baptist.  They grew up together.  They shared stories about miraculous conceptions and the call of God on their lives.  John was the one who baptized Jesus when the heavens opened up and God spoke and a dove came down.  John spent years and years watching and listening to his cousin.  He had to have known that Jesus was the Messiah, right?

            There are a couple of different ways to look at this passage.  One is to say that John believed, but he was shaken by being in prison and his impending death.  He knew, he just wanted to be reassured because this was not how he imagined a life of successful ministry would go.  Maybe he had dreams that he and Jesus would work side by side as the Messiah and His Prophet.  Maybe he just felt abandoned and wanted to know whether his life and his sacrifice had been worth anything.

            There is another way to approach the passage, however.  What if John needed no convincing?  What if he knew that his time was to diminish as Jesus’ hour drew near?  What if he knew that it had been his call to prepare the way for the Chosen One…to make His paths straight and prepare the people to hear the words of the Messiah?  What if John sent his disciples to Jesus not to ease his own doubts, but to ease theirs?  What if this message was one of the final ways that he loved his disciples, by creating an opportunity to interact with Jesus?

            A disciple is simply a follower.  Several of John’s followers went on to become Jesus’ followers, in large part because of this interaction.  A large percentage of the 12 apostles were actually former followers of John.  Peter, Andrew, James and John all probably counted themselves among John’s disciples and it was this task that their teacher gave them that set them on the path to becoming believers.  John knew that he had to diminish and release his hold on his followers so that they could encounter the Living God and find their true purpose.

            I love the idea.  I hate the implications.

            I know that as a youth pastor, I am only one of many influential voices that the youth will have throughout their lives.  My biggest job is to give them the tools and the motivation to find Jesus and develop a relationship with Him to carry them through their lives.

            That is our charge as parents as well.  We should diminish so that Christ can grow to be a larger presence that walks with our children through their lives.  With typical children, that is a terrifying prospect.  With a special needs child, I don’t even see how that could be possible.  We do not just offer advice and rides; we are often the providers of their Activities of Daily Living.  Jesus won’t change their diaper or their food tube or keep repeating the same 2 ½ minutes of a favorite video for them.  Jesus won’t sing them to sleep or rock them when they cry or any of the thousands of things that we do.  And He doesn’t need to.

            John did not lay out for his disciples exactly what their lives would look like and what following Jesus would mean for them.  He simply created ways for those he cared for to meet their Creator.  Remember, God is good.  We do not need to abandon our kids; we just need to create ways to introduce them to the Loving God.

            That could be taking them to church.  That could be listening to worship music.  That could be memorizing Scripture.  That could be spending time in nature.  That could be watching Veggie Tales.  That could be praying over them as you move through their Activities of Daily Living.  That could be frequent parties.  That could be having a love-filled home.

            John was willing to be left alone to die in prison so that those he cared for the most would find eternal life with Jesus.  What do we do with that?

A moment to reflect:

How can you introduce your child to Jesus?