September 19, 2018
It is sad to see the pictures and videos of the deserts and draught areas of the world. The bareness and desolation are everywhere. You don’t spot water anywhere, but sometimes you observe malnourished people and scrawny animals. The desert isn’t home for the fair of heart; cities are for that. The desert doesn’t experience hurricanes, tornadoes, or tsunamis, only sand, and dust storms. Excellent descriptive words are, desolate, isolated, barren, and bleak
This passage is about a rose that bloomed in the desert. While Jesus lived and ministered in the Galilean hills, John the Baptist lived an austere life in the wilderness or desert country of Judea.
The verses express the mission of John the Baptist described long ago by the Old Testament, Isaiah, “A voice of one crying out: Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert. Every valley will be lifted up, and every mountain and hill will be leveled; the uneven ground will become smooth, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will appear, and all humanity will see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken” (Isaiah 40:3-5).
John the Baptist, dressed in a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist, was a “rose” blooming in the desert. His food was locusts and wild honey. His message was repentance and the new life, a life of milk and honey.
John couldn’t give a new life, there was one coming much greater than he. From the desert, the Baptizer pointed people to Jesus who would be the bread of life.
Many people live barren lives, satiating themselves of the calories of today when they should proclaim the good news of Jesus and the new life He delivers. Introduce someone to Jesus, today!