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| Repent and be Baptized for the Forgiveness of Sins |
And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;
As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;
And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?
He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.
Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do?
And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.
And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.
(Luke 1:3-14 KJV)
John the Baptist, the one who came to announce to the world that Jesus was the Christ, came calling people to change their ways and to be baptized. They came by the hoards to hear and to be baptized.
And... they came. They heard the message about what they needed to do in regards to repentance. They heard that they were to do God's will by doing good; by doing no harm against their neighbors.
Sadly, we (at least I) have been witnessing an uptick these last few years in not so much global animosity; but, crimes against our neighbors. Much of it seems to be out of jealousy; of not getting what we want right now. These store owners are rich so we can take their livelihood by breaking in and looting or burn their buildings to the ground. It is called, by some, social justice. But, is there justice if a local business loses that business they have built from the ground with much hard work and long hours? Is it justice when the employees lose their livelihood? Is it justice when a person has no vehicle and has to walk much farther to get to the grocery store or pharmacy or to get to another job? And... just because it may be a big name store that doesn't mean that it's not franchised by a neighbor at a very high cost or that the damage that's done to the business costs their employees their livelihoods as well. Is it justice when an angry person goes out and terrorizes and kills people who they may not even know? Is it justice that those who do harm to others are quickly released just to turn around and do more harm to others?
There seems to be a difference today between social justice and actual justice. The social justice of today isn't always concerned with how innocent people are caught up in the harm that is being done. Harming innocent people in any way is not justice. Real justice does no harm in word or deed.
Unfortunately, some of the harm being done has to do with the media and our government officials just stirring up animosity for ratings or political gain.
It is past time to hear John the Baptist's call to repent and receive forgiveness for our sins. It is time to turn around and do the will of God; doing no harm. Let us give thanks that through Christ Jesus we can indeed turn around and live life in a new way helping and supporting others rather than destroying them.
God help us all to repent and be baptized into the Body of Christ that we might follow in his way by the power of the Spirit of Christ.
God's Peace - Pr. J.
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