“He’s a Jesus Freak!”
That’s what Jesus called John the Baptist.
Honest!
Okay, maybe it was more like “among those born of women there is none greater than John.” (Matthew 11:11)
I just think that Jesus Freak is much more succinct and to the point. And cool.
It’s also the title of a song by DC Talk. Read these few lines from the lyrics. It’s a rap song, so go ahead and bust the words inside your head, or out loud if you have the courage (and the voice).
There was a man from the desert with naps in his head
The sand that he walked was also his bed
The words that he spoke made the people assume
There wasn’t too much left in the upper room
With skins on his back and hair on his face
They thought he was strange by the locusts he ate
You see the Pharisees tripped when they heard him speak
Until the king took the head of this Jesus freak
The words so well describe why JTB was greater than any man who ever lived.
He surrendered a normal life. No family. No job. No career. No Tuesday night poker with the boys or Thursday evening softball.
He sacrificed them all for the Kingdom. Animal skins for clothes. The desert his home, the sand his bed, wild crunchy things his food. He didn’t come “eating or drinking” (read partying) and so they laughed at him and said he had a “demon.”
All of this because he didn’t conform.
But he did conform.
He conformed to God’s will and God’s way. Not his own will. Or man’s will. And he didn’t succumb to man’s bullying because he was different. Or because he made different choices. Or because he had a purpose that transcended their understanding. A purpose they were deaf and blind to.
His purpose was to “prepare the way” for the Messiah. And he did it without wavering. Without cussing his maker. Without any “Why me?” pity parties.
I don’t doubt that he had some lonely nights by himself in the Desert Sands motel, though. But once the sun peaked over the hills and he’d forced down a few tasty locusts, he was right back on mission.
Now JTB was a prolific baptizer. Swarms of people sought him out to be dunked in the Jordan. So many pursued him that he could easily have been the first rock star. But he did something that enabled him to stay true to his purpose, denying his rock star status.
He humbled himself.
And he humbled himself to his own detriment and eventual death.
That doesn’t mean he was weak. Quite the contrary. JTB was a truth teller, even to evil King Herod (read Mark 6:17-20). And he was one of the first “fire and brimstone” preachers (read Luke 3:7-17).
Humility has nothing to do with weakness. It has to do with fully yielding one’s self to something bigger, something greater.
It’s this humility that made JTB the greatest man who ever lived. It’s what made him the first authentic Jesus Freak.
Once he fulfilled his kingdom work of steadfastly preparing the way for our Savior, JTB laid his head at the foot of a guillotine, with its blade suspended high above, and then set free.
Do you know your kingdom purpose? How does it feel to pursue it? Is it costing you anything? Is there any aspect that humbles you? If you don’t yet know your purpose, consider talking with your wife, a pastor, or someone you know who is already wholeheartedly pursuing their own kingdom purpose. Ask them about their journey—how they knew, what they sacrificed, what keeps them humble, how they feel living out their purpose.
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