Something to remember 18

"Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. John tried to prevent him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?" Jesus said to him in reply, "Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed him. After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the ehavens were opened (for him), and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove (and) coming upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, saying, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." - Matthew 3: 13-17

People often ask why God chooses to not just change the world in just one flick of a finger. Why not eradicate poverty, hunger, sickness, death, evil, sin Himself? The question is not that He cannot do it, only why not? And I will not even try to guess at the grand plan of God but what is clear to me is that He calls us to be part of His work to do just this. We are that important to Him.

In the Baptism of Jesus, John makes a valid point: why should I baptize you when you should be the one baptizing me? It tells volumes of how much God wants us to be involved in His plan when at a glance, He can do a much better job alone.

The Baptism of Jesus is a testament to what can happen if we allow God to use us in His plan. Indeed, as we have seen here, He used John and He can always use us to glorify Him even more, to reveal Himself more fully to the world.

Something to Remember 17

Beautiful words of encouragement in these dark days of pessimism, doubt and despair, when it is so much easier to forsake the right for the convenient and the pleasurable.

"For the love of God is this, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith. Who [indeed] is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?"
- 1 John 5: 3-5