The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, just as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, I am sending My messenger before You, who will prepare Your way; The voice of one calling out in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight!’” John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
In preparation for a wedding ceremony, many couples send out a “save the date.” This tells guests to mark the date of the wedding on the calendar, so they can get excited about the celebration and plan, whether that means making travel arrangements, taking days off work, or something else.
From moment of the Fall in Genesis 3, God has moved toward us with His plan of redemption to be fulfilled across generations. He paved the way for His Son to arrive and redeem His people. In today’s text, we see John announcing the coming fulfillment of the promised Messiah of God.
How often do you remember that God was intentional in His pursuit of you? Sometimes the brokenness of the world leads us to question God’s goodness, character, and care for us, but when we look at Scripture, we see that God has continually pursued us. The apex of this pursuit is in the arrival of Jesus. God has pursued you from the beginning, have you prepared the way for Him?
- How does it encourage you to remember God has intentionally pursued you?
- Who in your life needs to hear of God’s pursuit of their redemption?
- Pray for people you know who need to hear of God’s pursuit in their lives.
