“To this John replied, “A person can only receive what is given to them from heaven.” (John 3:26 NIV)
Jesus’ fame was gathering and John the Baptist’s audience was thinning. His disciples got caught up in an argument about ceremonial washing when they learned that Jesus was also baptizing. A spirit of competition took hold of them and they came to John with their concerns – “He is baptizing and everyone is going to Him.” (Note their hyperbole; everyone wasn’t going to Jesus, because v. 23 tells us John was still baptizing.)
John’s response to his disciples was nothing short of brilliant, and it’s got me thinking about the limitations of my own life as blessings, not burdens. “A person can only receive what is given to them from heaven.” John’s words remind us of Job’s. “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” (Job 1:21 NIV) Like Job, John the Baptist recognized the boundaries of his life to be determined by divine authority. John didn’t kick against the goads, he acknowledged his human limitations and expressed his confidence in God’s sovereignty.
All that said, if John had any sore, fleshy feelings about his crowd becoming Jesus’ crowd and the diminishment of his earthly ministry, it’s safe to say he assumed he was the problem.
“He must become greater; I must become less.” (John 3:30 NIV)
Yet, I think far more likely, John somehow understood his life as a prequel to Christ. He was a prophesied and self-proclaiming forerunner; a spiritual flag, waving in the wilderness to warn the world of sin in time to receive a Savior. John the Baptist accepted his role in history and was willing to play his part until the curtain closed. I attribute this rare sort of knowing cooperation to his set-apart living.
Consider it: John had grown up with two aged parents. I’ve always wondered when he was orphaned. Is that how John wound up in the desert doing things God’s way? Did he learn to live in total dependance on a divine Father out of sheer necessity? How had God provided and protected him personally in the wilderness? I’d love to know John’s back story; everything between Mary’s visit to his mother and his baptismal ministry’s beginning. I’m quite convinced it’s epic in nature.
What about us? When we are struggling with our divinely dictated limitations, it’s best to get alone with the Father and give Him room to speak to our situation. If we can allow His voice to be the loudest, we’ll begin to hear His heart for humanity. We may also start to identify our distinct role within His perfect plan. John the Baptist was used mightily because he was available and willing: both to be utilized but also to be set aside when his ministry season ended. What might God do with us if we prayed such audacious prayers as John? “He must become greater, I must become less.” What might God accomplish through the confines of our own conceded flesh? Heaven only knows.
“The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.”
(Psalm 16:6 NIV)
I”ll never forget hearing our former superintendent, Brother Joseph Grandberry, preach his last sermon as an elected leader. He ministered from this text in Psalm 16. He shared about what a blessing it had been to pastor our district, how the boundary lines had fallen for him in pleasant places. He encouraged us to trust the sovereignty of God within our own stories.
This fence separated me from some very large cattle and I was grateful for it. 🙂
We hear the highlights of other people’s lives, ministries, families or blessings, we are often tempted to compare. But please note the personal nature of this psalm. When we read it aloud, it’s a first person statement. “The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places”. Our Father, from His divine seat of sovereignty, has laid out our lives with tremendous mercy and heavenly consideration. He knows what we can handle and what is too tempting. He has set the boundaries of our lives in place to bless us, to wield our flesh well for the good of His Kingdom. And when it’s all said and done, every last one of His sons and daughters have a delightful inheritance in Him.
Years ago I read a book by a woman who had lived in fifteen houses in sixteen years due to her husband’s call to ministry. Rental homes are often difficult to decorate, but she was determined. She explained how every home presented unique challenges and instead of getting bent out of shape about the challenges, she decided to label them as lovely limitations. Her lovely limitations had forced her to be creative and fifteen homes with creative potential wound up stretching her skills considerably.
God has placed lovely limitations in each of our lives. These are natural boundaries that He has erected with full knowledge of how they might grow and stretch our souls. These limitations may not feel lovely when we bump up against them, but we know God’s character and He has laid them down in great affection for us, determined to grow us up into His image. The sooner we acknowledge and accept His boundaries, the sooner we’ll learn to live and serve gladly within them.
Lord, today we see John as a man who lived well within the life You laid out for him. He was willing to serve publicly and privately for You: in total anonymity and in high publicity alike. John was determined to walk the path You put before him in obedience and surrender. Lord, help us see our own limitations as fences erected by a loving God. You have put us here to grow us up as we learn to live for You. May we turn from complaint to cooperation, trusting Your good judgement above our own emotions. Accomplish what You will through our concession. Amen