You are better than who you are now. You are better than the greatest of all men. I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. (Luke 7:28) How can I be better than the best that ever lived, according to Jesus? Moreover, how can I be better than me when I’m the best me I can be right now? Yes, you can laugh out loud. You’re probably asking yourself that this statement I made is absurd. I mean, after all, you’re not half the person you were even just a few months ago. Your confidence may be burned, your ideals a bit more faded, your outlook on life a bit more grim. Whatever it may be, to be better than the “best of all born of women” is a huge leap from where you actually are. But I want to express where Jesus is coming from when he says something like this. He is telling people who followed John, and who are following him that there is no reason for them to despair when things are not going as they originally planned. I mean, if you look at what’s happening here in this story, John (the Baptist) is imprisoned for doing incredible things for God and in the name of God. If he could fall victim to a prison sentence, then what about the people who don’t have his pedigree or his accomplishments? They are thinking that they would be subject to far worse. When you have faith in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you’re already moving up in life. Just because you may have accomplished nothing yet, doesn’t mean you will be relegated to accomplishing nothing at all. There is a place for you that’s reserved for more than what you are now, that is more than what’s reserved for even the most highly decorated of all people simply because you believe in faith that Jesus grants you citizenship into His kingdom. So imagine yourself as leveraging that status of greater than the best this year. Jesus believes that about you, the question is, “do you?”
Comments are closed