The Guide We Need
Scripture Reading — Luke 3:2-9
The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.
— Luke 3:2
John doesn’t seem to be the kind of person you’d like to share a table with in a coffee shop. He seems more like a cranky hermit who shouts at children to keep out of his yard.
What made him so wild and untamed? John was born with a job to do—calling people back to real life with God. Through the Spirit of God, John had a fire in his soul that led him to proclaim the truth and to shock people back to the center of life—God.
In our world of GPS on our smart phones, we think we know where to find life because we are convinced we are not lost. We are sure we are not wandering around in some personal desert. We don’t need someone to tell us what’s wrong because we follow our own compass—our hearts.
But is that really working? We keep making bad choices at work and in our free time and our relationships. We chase the latest trends and other gods in pursuit of happiness. Our compass is not leading us in the right direction. We’re lost. We need the Holy Spirit to point us in the direction we should go.
John wants to prepare the way for us to meet the One who can level the mountains of our lives into molehills. John wants us to come home to the Savior. He says, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).
Jesus, on this Pentecost Sunday I want to thank you for the Holy Spirit, who, like a fire in my soul, helps me find my way home and leads me to speak boldly for you. Amen.
About the author — Reginald Smith
Dr. Reginald Smith is senior pastor at Roosevelt Park Community Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he has served for seventeen years. He has also served as a pastor in Paterson, New Jersey. He and his wife, Sharon, have three daughters, Janelle, Katrina, and Mariah.
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