Have you ever met a prophet? Chances are, if you had he wasn’t dressed in camel hair and eating locusts. Chances are also that, if you have encountered a prophet sent by God, you more than likely didn’t care for what he had to say. In biblical times, prophets often preached a word from God that stood in conflict with the way the people of God were living.
When the people of God would wander from the law, the prophet would often appear and deliver a message of God’s displeasure. With the word would also come words of correction and encouragement. Prophets also announced the onset of God’s intervention and activity in the world. Because John the Baptist came as the forerunner to the Messiah, Jesus called John the greatest prophet of all.
Today, Christians are still called to speak the message of salvation and spread the good news of Christ Jesus. God invites all people to come into his presence through faith in the one foretold by John. We may not be prophets like him, but our message, like John’s, points others to Christ the Lord.
Prayer: O lord, give me a voice that speaks your Word today, so that others may come into your kingdom through faith in Christ Jesus. Amen.
In the Beginning 