There are moments in our lives when we are confronted with information that changes things. Information that changes the way we see the world, the way we live our lives, and the way we interact with one another. Coming to faith in Jesus Christ is just such a moment. The truth of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection is information that can’t be ignored. It’s information that brings light into darkness, and from that moment forward your life is changed.

Some of you were raised in a Christian home, and truth is all you’ve ever known. You can’t pinpoint a moment when it was revealed, but it was revealed nonetheless.

John the Baptist would fall into this category. His father Zechariah was a priest, and his mother was a descendant of Aaron the brother of Moses. The Bible tells us that both of his parents were upright in the sight of God (Luke 1:6). They raised John to know the Lord, and he grew and became strong in spirit (Luke 1:80).

John’s life had a purpose. He was to know the truth, and to testify to that truth. At his birth John’s father prophesied, “You, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace” (Luke 1:76-79). John was to be a witness to what God was about to do, and he did that faithfully.

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 1:29-34
John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”

John had information he could not ignore, and that day at the Jordan River he saw the sun rise on a world that walks in darkness.

The Bible tells us that John was set apart to be a witness at birth. Would you be surprised to learn that you have also been set apart—that Jesus prophesied about you before you were born? Jesus said to those who believe, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). As John was set apart to point forward to the cross, we are set apart to point back.

Our Lord works through us, to bring encouragement to one another, and to bring light to those in darkness. We may not be called to baptize in the Jordan, or to shout from street corners, but we are called to be witnesses in our community and to the ends of the earth.

A few years ago, a Christian who took this call very seriously reached out to me. He lived before my eyes as a witness to the Kingdom. As a witness he did not hammer me with the law, or shower me with the gospel. He simply lived with hope, and waited, and prayed. When the opportunity came he was ready. Through his testimony, and friendship, I found myself reading Scripture, and in Scripture I found myself believing in Jesus Christ.

God used this man, this witness, to point me towards the horizon, and in Scripture I saw the sun rise in the valley of death.

As believers we share many gifts, but we share only one mission. We have been set aside to testify that salvation is found only in Jesus Christ, “God’s Chosen One,” and that truth can do more than change the life of the one who hears it, it can change their eternity.

By Troy Tysdal

Troy Tysdal is Church Resource Coordinator for the Church of the Lutheran Brethren and serves as associate pastor at Stavanger Lutheran Church in Fergus Falls, MN.