Bound in Truth
Matthew 14:3-4 Now
Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison because of
Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, 4 for John had been saying to him: “It is
not lawful for you to have her.”
WHAT do you do when you have to stand for Jesus? Perhaps someone
insults him, takes his name in vain or insults you for believing in him. Do you
“let it go” to avoid conflict? Or are you bound to your Lord?
John the Baptist
was given life for one specific, grand purpose: “Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God.
17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to
turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the
wisdom of the righteous — to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke
1:16-17)
How would John
live to his purpose “to make ready a people prepared for the Lord”? He would
tell them two things: “You have sinned.” and “Repent.” John’s purpose was bound
in the eternal purpose of God to prepare God’s people for Jesus’ first coming
to inaugurate the Kingdom of God. John had no choice in his life but to stand
up and speak the truth. God had anointed him to this life-giving and dangerous
mission.
Yes, the truth is
extremely dangerous, isn’t it? See how Herod bound John whom God had bound to
tell the truth. Herod, the great adulterer, bound and jailed John, the great
prophet. Sin’s binding is vicious and relentless, especially toward God’s faithful.
As God has called you
to be his own, remember your purpose. Stand against sin to make ready a people
prepared for the Lord.
LIFE Link: Prepare the way of the Lord. Jesus is coming
again.
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