If you had to look for an example of a Christian life, which you felt you must imitate in order to be living the kind of life desired for you by God, what life would you pick? Who would you feel most compelled to imitate? I know there are likely many names that come to our minds, but would any of us likely choose John the Baptist and say, ‘now there is a man that I should model my life after’?
When Thomas Watson talks about what it looks like to show a holy violence in the pursuit of Glory, he gives us first the example of John the Baptist. However, this is not his choosing alone. Christ himself seems to indicate that John’s way of life and the manner of his ministry were apt examples of the life of a soldier in pursuit of the Kingdom. Watson reminds us that, according to Jesus, John was a hard, unbending man – not like a reed shaken by the wind. Nor was John a man who wore soft clothing and thus lived in king’s houses – he dressed in sack cloth and lived in the wilderness. (see Matthew 11:7-8)
Why is John’s way of life special? Why should I consider adopting his attitude? First, as one who was not shaken by the forces raised against him, John shows us the confidence of one who does not consider the Kingdom of heaven worth forsaking in order to hold on to this life. As a result of this confidence, this resolve to achieve heaven before all other things, John stood firm in the face of angry scribes and Pharisees and wicked Kings and Queens. His preaching never ceased to be that of repentance in light of the coming of the Kingdom of God – even to the point of his imprisonment and martyrdom.
Second, John demonstrates that the priority of heaven far outreaches the priority of comfort in this life for the believer who sees heaven as the prize that it is and therefore, violently pursues it. He shows us that living for personal gain is not really an option for the one who wants heaven. The one who wants heaven wants it not just for himself, but for everyone, and therefore, he forsakes the comfort afforded by the king’s preacher and calls the king to repentance, he embraces the wrath of his enemies in order to plead with them to repent of their sins.
I think there is a good case for making John a prime example of right Christian living, and I believe that we would all do well to resolve to live first in pursuit of heaven, which means we will not be shaken by our circumstances or our enemies and indeed, we will shamelessly call the world to repent for the kingdom of heaven is near. And we will do all of this because of the confidence we have in the one who saved us, Christ Jesus our Lord.
