Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Luke 3 before reading the devotional below.
In this time of waiting and fulfillment of prophecy (see yesterday’s post), some interesting people start showing up. John the Baptist is a fascinating prophetic voice, with a direct call of God on his life since before he was born. (Side note: when an angel shows up to announce your coming birth to your parents, you can take that as a strong sign that God is going to use you to say some pretty unique stuff…)
Zoom in on verses 7-14 for a minute. John is letting everyone know that all the things that keep them feeling safe and cozy actually mean nothing. Have you ever hit that moment where you realize that all the safety and control you thought you had was all just an illusion to begin with? (Me too.) The crowd asks the next logical question: “What do we do??!”
I find John’s answer fascinating: “If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry.” There are a few other examples but it all comes down to one simple idea: share. Turns out we are all just a bunch of toddlers and all God wants is for us to just share already. And you know, it really is the same thing I say to my kids. Just share. That’s all I really want.
Then the counselor in me says, “What stops us from sharing?” Ultimately nobody feels great when they are greedy and fighting for their own interests. So why do we find ourselves struggling so much with the basic idea that sharing is the right way to go? I think of it like a contagious disease. Every time someone does not share with you, a bit of your heart gets just a tiny bit hardened. Then more and more and you start passing it on and in the end humanity is ruined by greed. Not to mention all the other kinds of harm that can come into your life that brings about the same thing. We learn to protect ourselves, and we find security and control in things that provide neither.
Here’s your freedom for today: hard hearts can always melt back into shape. Think of it like a candle — it may become misshapen over time, but throw it back into a pot and all the wax becomes moldable again. It’s not too late for you to throw bits of your heart back into the Holy Spirit’s fire. We all have those broken places. Perhaps if we find one way to share with others today we’ll melt just a little tiny bit.