March 28

Even Then

John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:14, 15).

Scripture: Matthew 3:11-17

Song: “Hands and Feet”

My parents loved to make up their own parables. One such parable goes like this: “If I saw a boulder rolling down the hill behind you and yelled for you to move, is there any time for you to argue with me?” Their lesson was essentially; “Listen—even when it doesn’t make sense.”

John learned the same lesson. He knew that he was lower than the lowest servant compared to Jesus. So when Jesus told him to baptize Him, John was understandably confused. What resulted, though, was a glorious display of Heaven opening and God anointing His Son in front of several people. And everything became clear. John’s misunderstanding and arguing could have stopped the entire narrative in its tracks, but Jesus quieted him, and God worked.

God can do amazing things when we are quiet and listen. The promptings we hear almost every day (or would hear if we stopped to listen) can turn into amazing stories of healing and of joy and of God’s providence. God wants to reach out to everyone, and He can use you.

Lord, thank You for Your promptings. I pray that You will not only give us the ears to hear Your promptings, but the strength to follow through. I pray that we may be instruments for the rest of the world to see something amazing. In Your name I pray, amen.