The purpose of this post is to remind people that we can’t be putting others on a pedestal.
Great men of God are still men. That’s what I love about the Bible.
God is infallible, man is a mess.
The more hooked into to God we are and the more we die to ourselves, the less of a mess we become. Even under those circumstances, we are still humans.
My example today is John the Baptist. What a great man of God. Dedicated his whole life when he was called from what we believe was from his birth.
Here is what Jesus had to say about John the Baptist.
Matthew 11: – 10This is the one about whom it is written: “‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ 11I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
John prepared the way for the coming Messiah. He was fully committed to God.
After John was arrested and was in prison, he wondered if Jesus was indeed the Messiah. I believe John like many of the Jewish leaders of the day, thought the Messiah was coming to take over and rule the Jews over the other nations. So when that wasn’t happening, he was second guessing his baptism.
Matthew 11:1-3 – 1After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee. 2When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples 3to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”
Why did John ever doubt? Because he was a man.
He was in prison after giving his life to God. He was hearing about Jesus preaching the Good News, but I can’t help to think, and this is my opinion, he was waiting for Jesus to make his Kingship and then get John out of that prison.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t believe that for two seconds that if John knew that if he was going to be in prison or beheaded and that was God’s plan for his life, that he would have changed a thing. He was a souled out believer.
John was a great man of God. Like all great men of God, he had his moment or moments.
I am so grateful that the Lord had all those things recorded in his Word. If all the great men of God were perfect, who would attempt to follow and present the Gospel after them? Certainly not I.
However, since all men are fallible, we can all know that perfection isn’t a necessity to spread the Good News.
A heart for Truth is. To spread around the correct Gospel is. Perfection however, is not a prerequisite. Time for all of us to spread the Good News.