This is a wonderful picture of some bull rushes I came across. It made me think about the passage in Luke when John has sent messengers to ask if Jesus was the Christ.
22 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them.
Jesus tells us that the proof that He is the messiah, the Christ, is that He has done the things that God prophesied He would do. We judge Him on His actions, as well as His preaching.
In the picture we see the grass first, bullrushes I think. Then behind we see the trees almost gathered around it protectively. John came first and then Jesus, and when questioned about John Jesus says this.
24 “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 25 But what did you go out to see?
The reeds by the river where John baptised would be beaten by the wind to and thro’, but when the wind died down they stood still. Perhaps this is because they have so great long roots in all directions.
Perhaps I might suggest Jesus was declaring that John was the greatest prophet because of his roots (faith) and his preaching (like the reeds swaying back and forth he might have preached with many vigorous hand gestures) and remaining faithful to the truth (standing still when the wind dies down). John was certainly not an ordinary man, and Jesus could have also been asking “If you went out to see a prophet, why did you expect to see a fine King, and an ordinary man”.
Perhaps this these verses tell us that true discipleship is evidenced by the actions and preaching of its people?
I pray that this day we are called upon to talk and preach about our faith in a truthful manner. I pray that we are loving but that we also are not afraid to speak out about what seems wrong. I pray that our deeds are led by God and are for God’s eternal glory.
Amen
with blessings
Graham
365 Exhortations 