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Go ahead and look first at Matthew 17 . See how God speaks to you individually. Then come back, if you wish, and see what God has put in my mind/heart.

Key Verse(s): Matthew 17:10-13

The disciples asked him, "Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?"

Jesus replied, "To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands." Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.

Title: Glorious Failure

Observation: John the Baptist’s life and ministry is interesting. On the one hand he had a significant impact on the world, he had many come to be baptized and had won the adulation of the people. He had spoken truth to power and it had gotten him killed. He had fulfilled his calling to tell people of the coming messiah and also had baptized Jesus, as he was ordained to do.

On the other hand, at his death it may have felt to his disciples that his life was a failure. Things were back to sort of the way things were before he had arrived on the scene. This man who had given so much of himself, who had been rigorous in his eating and clothing for God, had been killed on a whim by a silly girl, her conniving mother and her pompous step-father.

And yet Jesus pronounced two things about him. One is that he’d accomplished his God ordained mission. And two, that no one had ever lived a more holy life than John. While from the outside it may have seemed failure, it was the greatest of successes. In light of eternity receiving from Jesus the commendation on a life well lived and having carried out your earthly mission will be mammoth praise and reason for eternal joy.

I think we also see in the statement about a mustard seed of faith that what may seem little is incredibly important in the Kingdom of God. Jesus is waiting to give us so that we might seize just a portion of the tiniest grain of faith so that he can work powerfully through us. And we may never see the results. But in the light of eternity we will know the greatness of the small faith and its outworking into eternity.

Application: I need to be careful about which measuring stick I use to evaluate what I am doing with my days here on earth. It may be spending time with a misdirected youth that will be more beneficial to the kingdom than the “more important” things that I have to do. Finding where God wants me to be is key, so that I might be effective, not by my standards, but by Jesus’.

Prayer: Lord God, show me where your heart is. Show me where you want me to be. Allow me to slide into the place where you want to use me. Allow me to be effective and not waste this gift of life that you have given me. Allow me to trust you for results and be patient with your eternal plan. May Jesus Christ be praised in my life and actions!

In Jesus Name,
Amen.