Loving God, prepare the way, the truth and the life for this dear reader in all they may face today; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Our text for today comes from John 1: 29 The very next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and yelled out, 30 "Here he is, God's Passover Lamb! He forgives the sins of the world! This is the man I've been talking about, 'the One who comes after me but is really ahead of me.' 31 I knew nothing about who he was - only this: that my task has been to get Israel ready to recognize him as the God-Revealer. That is why I came here baptizing with water, giving you a good bath and scrubbing sins from your life so you can get a fresh start with God." 32 John clinched his witness with this: "I watched the Spirit, like a dove flying down out of the sky, making himself at home in him. 33 I repeat, I know nothing about him except this: The One who authorized me to baptize with water told me, 'The One on whom you see the Spirit come down and stay, this One will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' 34 That's exactly what I saw happen, and I'm telling you, there's no question about it: This is the Son of God." 35 The next day John was back at his post with two disciples, who were watching. 36 He looked up, saw Jesus walking nearby, and said, "Here he is, God's Passover Lamb." 37 The two disciples heard him and went after Jesus. 38 Jesus looked over his shoulder and said to them, "What are you after?" They said, "Rabbi" (which means "Teacher"), "where are you staying?" 39 He replied, "Come along and see for yourself." They came, saw where he was living, and ended up staying with him for the day. It was late afternoon when this happened. 40 Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard John's witness and followed Jesus. 41 The first thing he did after finding where Jesus lived was find his own brother, Simon, telling him, "We've found the Messiah" (that is, "Christ"). 42 He immediately led him to Jesus. Jesus took one look up and said, "You're John's son, Simon? From now on your name is Cephas" (or Peter, which means "Rock"). (The Message)
Where do you stay? I remember hearing that phrase as it came into fashion as the question we used to ask as, "Where do you live?" The implication was clear, we live everywhere we are, and at night, we stay at this address. I'm not advocating for its continued or resurrected use, but it was an interesting point made by asking, "Where do you stay?" This gets asked of Jesus by two of John's disciples. Their life had been in upheaval since meeting John and hearing about Jesus. The message that John was preaching was having an impact on many lives, including theirs and to find the One whom John had been teaching made them want to follow Him. You will notice that they were asked a question first, "What are you after?" In other words, what's been motivating your life up to now? They respond by calling Jesus "Rabbi" and then asking the question, "Were are you staying?" After spending time with Him, one of them, Andrew, had to go and find his brother, Simon, to come and see what Andrew had found.
Our lives should not be the same after having met Jesus. We should have a new attitude and spirit about the spiritual world to which we belong. We should not be caught up in any of the rhetoric going on around us about politics and about this is good or this is bad, fear this and fear that. We should have a say in what we believe is God's take on all of this, and we should speak up for love, justice and fairness, keeping mindful that our citizenship is not from any place around here; we're just "staying" here for now, our home, where we will live eternally, is in Heaven. We should live life to the fullest in Jesus, but we should also stay safe and secure in the love that is ours from God.
PRAYER: Loving God, use me to be Yours today. Help me be a beacon of light and truth in the world of darkness that surrounds us. May we help spread the light of Your love in the midst of those who hate and seek to do that work Your Son spoke of in John 10:10 of "killing, stealing, and destroying." May we be all about staying in the fullness of life as You shared through Him. It is in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name that we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord.
Eradio Valverde
