Every Boy's Favorite Prophet

I think every young boy who has ever through years of Sunday School has wished that they could be John the Baptist. I know- the whole end of John's life didn't work out to well. Most of us aren't too eager to have our heads up served on silver platters after a few months of prison. But if John's dying wasn't how most of us would want to go, I know a lot of young boys who would like John's living. What isn't cool about camping out in animal skins eating bugs and honey for sustenance? It's like an episode of Survivor or Fear Factor. John the Baptist seems to be the real man's man. There is something in all of us (especially men) that likes the role of rebel.

And that is the role that John still calls us all to play. We are all to be the rebel (though not in the way that we usually think of rebellion). John's message is "Repent." We think of that as a religious word. It is a word that may have lost its force because of its almost exclusive use in church settings. But the word repent is a powerful word. It means do a 180. Stop being the person you were. Be somebody else for God. Do things His way. Rebel against the habits of the world. Be someone devoted to God.

It is interesting to me where John conducted his ministry. He was in the desert, the wilderness. Why didn't God put John in the cities where all the people were? Why be in the boonies? Why all the camel hair and locust and honey stuff? I think the answer is simple. God put John in the country because the very act of coming to hear and see John was a demonstration of what God wanted. To see John, had to leave worldly comforts behind. Had to turn back on wealth and pride and material goods of city and go to middle of nowhere. Seeing John meant leaving it all behind. It was a very tangible picture of repentance: leave it all behind to be someone else for God.

I am not so big on the honey and locust stuff anymore (especially the locusts). I'm man enough to admit I still prefer my tuna salad on whole wheat. But John is still this boy's favorite prophet. I still want to be the guy who rebels against the world to be someone who finds purpose in the Kingdom of God.