City Life Starter

Written by Scott Fiddler

The Word

24 When John’s messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 25 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings’ courts. 26 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is he of whom it is written, “ ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’ 28 I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” 29 (When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John, 30 but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)

Luke 7:24–30 (ESV)

Reflection

“. . . . but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.”

I became a Christian because a middle school football coach in Dallas, Texas presented the gospel at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes meeting I attended. He used the “The Four Spiritual Laws” to explain the gospel. The first spiritual law was “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.” That sounded good to me. I think it sounds good to most people. 

Besides the idea that God is concerned about us, there is the “wonderful plan” part. It would be one thing if God just had a plan and the “wonderful” part was left off, but would there be any takers? 

What if God had told John the Baptist at the beginning of his ministry that He had a plan for John that involved him being imprisoned and ultimately having his head cut off because Herod didn’t want to lose face before his dinner guests?  John was a great man—Jesus says the greatest—so I suspect he would have still chosen the plan. Would we?

I know that as good Evangelicals, we like to quote Jeremiah 29:11—“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope”—but that was a specific prophecy for Jeremiah to speak to the Israelites in exile within Babylon. 

I wonder if Polycarp recited Jeremiah 29:11? Polycarp was a disciple of John, the disciple whom Jesus loved. Polycarp was born in 70 A.D. and was martyred under the reign of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius in 156 A.D. Polycarp was burned at the stake, but when the fire didn’t consume him he was run through with the sword. Even the Roman pagans present couldn’t deny they had seen something supernatural.

And then there are those people in the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11, who were heroes because they believed the promises God made to them, yet they died not having experienced the fulfillment of those promises because their fulfillment was for a later generation (See Hebrews 11:13).

Application

One of the wonders of our God is the freewill He affords us. People complain about the doctrine of predestination, which is really a complaint about the amount of control God, in His sovereignty, retains. I’m awed by the amount of freedom God gives us.

God has a purpose for our lives, but He still reserves for us the freedom to reject His purpose, just like the lawyers and pharisees did. Moreover, He is honest and warns us on the front end to count the cost before making the decision to follow Him (See Luke 14:28-33). There is no bait and switch in the offer to follow Jesus.

The path of God’s purpose can sometimes be a hard road. Every step along the path is not wonderful—we live in a fallen world. But if we follow Jesus we are guaranteed that wherever He is, there we will be also (John 12:26), and He is wonderful.

The wonderfulness of Him makes the journey with Him wonderful.

Prayer

Lord, thank You for preparing a plan for my life and giving me the opportunity to walk in it with You. Amen.