A
debate broke out between John’s disciples and a certain Jew over ceremonial
cleansing. So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Rabbi, the
man you met on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you identified as
the Messiah, is also baptizing people. And
everybody is going to him instead of coming to us.” John replied, “No one
can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven. John 3:25-27(NLT)
Reading arguments is a Facebook™ staple! The
warnings from years ago have proven true; the anonymity of social media – at
least the lack of face-to-face (and isn’t THAT ironic on Facebook)
– has provided a medium which dehumanizes humans, and allows much more boldness
(read that: crude, cruel and
no-consequences interaction). Opinions – both considered, as well as flagrantly
hip-fired – volley back and forth in the posts and comments.
And great is the carnage of friendships and
character!
And there is no such thing as a “winner” or even an
end to these debates arguments; the
comments roll-on into the internet stratosphere, multiplying until Jesus
returns.
Irony persists – certainly on this page; a blog, this
Rocky Road Devotional is little more than an extended comment for the social
media pot. (Thought I’d go ahead and
admit that before anyone has a chance to comment).
The debate between John’s disciples and others was
Facebook for the first century; ego and vitriol are not new.
The Baptist’s ministry was winding-down and Jesus was
the new face to follow in the crowd. His
Facebook account had more hits than Madonna, and Twitter was blowing up with
Jesus sightings. Pinterest couldn’t get
enough of the new preacher.
John’s disciples couldn’t handle it.
But John could; he simply let his followers know that
the salvation they were proclaiming was walking in front of them now. The Kingdom of God was here. The advertising season was over, the debate
closed, and their campaign victorious!
Now it was time to step aside and let Jesus be seen.
And that is our set of marching orders…let Jesus be
seen.
The biggest set of irony here is the debate over which
is greatest, the sign pointing to the Kingdom, or the Kingdom itself. From our perspective twenty centuries later,
it seems ludicrous that the Baptist’s disciples would confuse that point. But we’re not much different, arguing over
contemporary music or traditional, King James or Revised Standard, or (my
favorite) Wesley over Calvin.
We are good at straining-out gnats and swallowing
camels!
For You Today
What useless arguments have you allowed yourself to be
drawn into lately? Did anyone see Jesus
in any of it?
If the answer is “yes” then God be praised.
If the answer is (as most often it is) “no” – what did
you learn about your response the next time the bait of an argumentative post
looks just too delicious to pass up?
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