John had been baptising at Aenon near Salim, which, according to my Bible map, is just on the Western side of the Jordan where Elijah (another prophet with strange eating habits) was fed by the ravens at Kerith.
Let's set the scene...
An argument had started between John's disciples and 'certain Jews' over the age-old custom of ceremonial washing. We're not told anymore than that, and when John's disciples came to him and said, "Hey John, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan - you know, the one you talked about? Well, he's baptising and everyone is going to him."
John, on the ball as always, said, "A man can receive only what is given to him from heaven. You know yourselves that I said I wasn't the Messiah, but was sent ahead of Him. The bride belongs to the bridegroom and the friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice.THAT JOY IS MINE AND IS NOW COMPLETE."
WOW! I've read the Gospel of John heaps of times, yet never noticed that before. It shouldn't really come as a surprise, I mean; John got all excited about Jesus before either of them was even born.
Huh?
Oh yeah, read Luke 1:44. Mary had gone to visit her cousin Elizabeth and as she walked through the door and said ‘Hello’, Elizabeth said. "As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
Even though it's not always easy to be joyful, we have every reason to leap for joy as well. Our sins are forgiven, we have been adopted by the creator and supreme ruler of the entire universe, AND we will spend eternity with our Lord. But what about the here and now; what about when reality bites?
I love what Habakkuk has to say in Chapter 3
"Though the fig tree does not bud,
and there are no grapes on the vine,
though the olive crop fails, and the
fields produce no food,
Though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls, yet
I WILL BE JOYFUL IN GOD MY SAVIOUR."
Thanks John, thanks Habakkuk for reminding me to be joyful.
