11-14-2022

Good Morning All,

        John 1:29; “The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

     “Look out!!;” “look where you are going.;” “are you even looking?”  Some very common phrases which we use and hear every day.  There is a greater emphasis on “looking” then there used to be.  We had the recent tragedy where the young man, supposedly, caused an accident which killed a man because he was “texting” while he was driving.  Of course, us old fogeys lament about these crazy kids while we read the paper or drink our coffee or put on our make up or whatever we do while we are driving.  We don’t look as well as we should. 

     I can look all over my office and never find the book that I want.  I can look all over the basement for a tool that I was using.  I can look all over for the place where someone lives.  I can look a lot and never see what it is I am looking for.  There are lots of reasons for this.  I have a cluttered office.  I am not sure where the tool I want is anyway.  Who really asks for directions?

     In our verse, John the Baptist knew who he was looking for.  He was looking for the Messiah, the Anointed One.  With a whole crowd of people around him, John pointed and yelled “Look (Behold), the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”  That probably got everyone’s attention.  Many thought, John the Baptist was the Messiah; but John makes it very clear, “Look, the Lamb of God.”

    We can almost sense the second part of this line.  John starts with “Look, the Lamb of God;” he could have finished with “Don’t look away or anywhere else!!”  When you have the Savior in your sight, don’t look away.  The Book of Hebrews tells us to “Focus your eyes upon Jesus.” always have the Savior in your line of sight to be sure of where you are going.

     But it is really easy to lose sight of Jesus; we do it a lot.  Perhaps our lives are too cluttered with “stuff;” the worries and the challenges, the temptations and the desires of this world can cause us to not see what we are looking for.  Maybe it has been so long since you looked that you forgot where to look and now you don’t want to ask for help.  All these and more, the devil wants to toss in your line of sight so that it is difficult to see Jesus.  We all know the saying,” out of sight, out of mind;” the devil wants that to occur in your life.  He wants Jesus out of your sight so that he can lead you astray.  This is part of the reason that attending worship service is so valuable; Jesus uses this time to help correct your vision and to help us to remember to look to the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, more importantly, he takes away your sin and mine and gives to us the blessing of salvation through it.  So, look to Jesus, whether in times of trouble or times of success; keep Him as your one true focus.

 Father of all mercies, your grace flows over us like a raging river.  We can never see the height or depth of your love.  Forgive us when we look elsewhere for our hope.  Keep us in your sight and hold us close to you that we may always see you clearly and look to you, the fount of all our hope, for all our good gifts and blessings.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

 God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret