The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! He is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘A man is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’” [John 1:29-30 (NLT)]
A red-shouldered hawk soared through the sky, swooped down, and settled in a tree just a few feet from us. After getting a photo, I walked back to a man we’d passed earlier on the boardwalk. His tripod and huge lens told me he was hoping to get some good shots and I let him know a Kodak moment was waiting on the side trail. He followed me back and my husband pointed out the impressive bird perched above him.
Later, we came upon one of the sanctuary’s naturalists who admitted she’d been waiting for someone to come along so she could point out a limpkin. With its dark brown body and white speckles, the bird blended into the underbrush and we never would have seen him without her direction. Then, opening a small jar of pond water she’d collected, she pointed out two dragonfly nymphs swimming around. Walking on, my husband pointed out an anhinga high in the trees and I returned the favor when I spotted a black-crowned night heron across the lake. Seeing the naturalist coming toward us, I waited so I could show her the easily missed bird.
When people come to the bird sanctuary, they come to see the swamp’s flora and fauna. But, if they don’t know where to look, it’s easy to miss the things that make the walk worthwhile. The naturalists often leave signs indicating points of interest and, when the ghost orchid is blooming, they leave a scope focused on the rare flower. Bird lovers share their findings on various bird websites and last week, after such a posting, dozens of birders turned up hoping to catch a glimpse a Hammond’s flycatcher.
John the Baptist was surrounded by a crowd of people who’d come to be baptized and hear him preach. Can you imagine what it was like when John saw Jesus and, pointing to the Lord, identified Him as the Lamb of God? Did all the heads turn and look? John’s job was to prepare the way and point the people to Jesus, the promised Messiah, and he did his job well.
While I’m happy to point out hawks, herons, swamp lilies, alligators and scarlet hibiscus to visitors at the bird sanctuary, I have another more important job that is shared with every Christian. Just as John pointed to the living Christ, we are to point to the risen Christ! But, I’m not sure pointing is enough. Had we just pointed in the hawk’s direction, the photographer might have ignored us and, if the naturalist had merely pointed toward the limpkin, we wouldn’t have seen it. It was only when she told us what to look for and described his location that we saw the bird. It seemed like her jar was filled only with murky swamp water until she showed us the nymphs and explained what they were.
When people come to the bird sanctuary, just knowing there are wood storks, herons, painted buntings, and old growth cypress isn’t the same as being shown those things. With our words, we can point people to Scripture, the church, and Jesus. Better than that, however, is showing people how the words of Scripture apply, what the church means, and how Jesus’ followers live a life of peace, joy, patience, forgiveness, love, compassion and service. It is by living the way we say we believe, by loving and serving, by praying both for and with someone, by seeking and interacting with the lost, by sharing our stories, and by listening to theirs that we truly show people the Lamb of God.
Birders are so enthusiastic that they share their sightings with everyone. Are we that enthusiastic about Christ? Like John, are we witnesses to His light? Do we show the Way?
Bereft that the people of Israel had rejected Jesus, Paul’s words are some of the saddest ones found in the epistles. I can see the tears in his eyes and hear the anguish in his voice as he dictated them to Tertius, his scribe. Young’s Literal Translation translates Paul’s words as having “great grief and unceasing pain in my heart.” Although he knows that nothing could cut him off from Christ, Paul says he’d be willing to sacrifice himself for his people if it were possible. That’s not just his life he’s offering; the word he used was anathema, meaning he was willing give up his salvation. If it would save the people of Israel, he would be delivered over to the wrath of God for eternal destruction: to spend an eternity in Hell!
In a letter to his brother, C.S. Lewis said that ”thanking the Giver” was the “completion of a pleasure” and expressed his sorrow that unbelievers had no place for the “steam” or “spirit…given off by experiences to go.” As I walked early this morning and watched the sun come up over the pond, it looked like steam was rising off the water. It’s not really steam; called steam fog or evaporation fog, it has something to do with the warm moist layer of air over the water mixing with the cooler air from the land. Nevertheless, it made me think of Lewis’ words as I pictured our prayers of thanksgiving rising up like steam to God.
We know little about Jesus’ childhood and young adulthood. Born in Bethlehem, He was circumcised and given His name eight days later. Forty days after His birth, Mary and Joseph took Him to the Temple in Jerusalem in accordance with the command to consecrate every firstborn male to God. Sometime after that, He received gifts from the Magi, His family fled to Egypt, and they returned to Nazareth after Herod died. That’s all we know of His childhood until He was twelve and the precocious youngster stayed behind in Jerusalem to discuss spiritual matters with the teachers there. After Mary and Joseph found Him in the Temple courts, He dutifully returned home to Nazareth with them. Although we know that Jesus learned Joseph’s construction trade and that he started his ministry around thirty, we know nothing of the years between twelve and thirty except that He was obedient to His parents and “grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and all the people.” [Luke 2:52]
As I offered prayers for a good biopsy report, it occurred to me that my prayer was too late. Already excised, the tissue had been sent to a pathologist; for all I knew, the report was written and waiting to be read by my physician. Was God going to rewrite the report? Any troublesome cells in my body had been there awhile. Most likely, the biopsy result was decided months ago so I probably should have been praying about it long before anyone knew a biopsy was needed. Since the pathologist’s report was determined long before my prayers, “Why bother to pray at all?” was the whisper of doubt in my mind.
Broken people were drawn to Jesus but Mary Magdalene was not as broken as many people think. Magdalene was not her last name; it simply means “from Magdala” and the Gospels’ writers added it to distinguish her from the many others Marys: Jesus’ mother, Martha’s sister, the wife of Clopas, and the mother of James and Joseph.
Devotions of the Heart 