Rev Gav

Listen

Luke 3:2b

At this time a message from God came to John son of Zechariah, who was living in the wilderness.

Reflect

John was in the wilderness preparing the way for the coming king. He was not in the city. He was not in the temple. He was not in the courts. In fact he was in the last place you would expect someone with public news to be. So, I wonder why the people listened to him? Here was a guy in a camel-hair coat, leather belt, living in the countryside on a diet of locusts and wild honey (do not knock it until you have tried it). Why would anyone have listened to him?

The reason people listened to John is because his dad was famous. To remind us, Luke mentions John’s father here on purpose. John’s dad, Zechariah, was a priest. He was not famous because he was a priest, but because of what had happened to him. You can hear all about it in Chapter 1. When John was born, everyone was talking about it, and so everyone had heard of John. John was a famous baby! So when this John, all grown up, starts to preach that the Messiah had turned up, you can be sure that they listened! It is a little ironic that the sign that made Zechariah famous, was the sign that he could not speak until John was born, and that sign pointed to John who spoke, calling people to listen to God.

God spoke through John, and God still speaks today. In my experience, there are many ways in which God speaks — for example, through nature, the Bible, people, personal reflections, and life situations. The point is that God wants to speak to you and wants to speak into your life.

Do

Today, be aware of God speaking to you. What is God saying? God might do it directly, but most likely God will speak through something or someone else. God’s voice might be ‘from the wilderness’.

Pray

Holy God
I want to know what you are saying to me.
Speak into my heart
through whatever way I will hear you best.
I am listening.
This day and for ever.
Amen.

Think

Why did God make it so that people would have to trek into the countryside — making quite an effort — to hear John’s message?