March 12 | John 5:30-35

Judy Webb
Mar 12
2 min read

DAILY READING

Keep it Burning Bright

John 5:30-35

REFLECTION

By Judy Webb

“John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.” John 5:35

Stop and reflect on this statement for a moment. Jesus is saying this and He is referring to John the Baptist. They are cousins, but also they have a common bond of faith. They believed in God and knew scripture.

John was a lamp that burned and gave light. He was charged with paving the way for Jesus and His ministry as he began to preach to the people about repentance; about changing their ways and turning to God. His following grew and people began to listen and to respond to John's words.

The religious leaders knew of John the Baptist, now they needed to know of Jesus and believe what John said about Him. John had light. The function of light is to guide the path set before man. They were learning about repenting and changing their sinful ways. As a true witness and light giver, John's light burned brightly. So he kept pointing to Jesus.

Many people were excited at the thought that John might be the Messiah. But John always pointed toward Jesus, and Jesus pointed to His Father God. And that is just what we should be doing, too. We are to point to Jesus by everything we do and say. Our testimony should glorify God, should point to Jesus as Savior, and the Holy Spirit as Guide and Protector. Let John the Baptist be our example.

“And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” 2 Peter 2:19 ESV

And just what is our testimony? It is the story of our repentance and salvation. It is the people who impacted our spirits with God's truth. It is the very path which brought us to this point in time and to the foot of the cross.

PRAYER

Dear Jesus,

We want to point to you and let others know about life lived following you. Come Holy Spirit and shine your light on the path you have prepared for us. Help us to glorify you in all we do and be the shining example your cousin, John the Baptist was for you. Amen.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

JUDY WEBB

I have been a member of UALC for 26 years and have been writing devotions for this site for about 17 of them. Writing is my passion. As retired staff I still love everything about UALC and its members including my small group.