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John The Baptist


And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven (Luke 1:76-78)


          In fantasy literature, there is a sub-genre that focuses on “chosen ones.” In politics, every election it seems like people are campaigning for someone they believe will solve all our problems, and campaigning against the anti-Christ. There are those who believe that America is an exceptional country, chosen and blessed by God. (And before you exceptionalists rage at me for suggesting otherwise, finish reading.)
           At Christmas time, we tend to focus on the Chosen One – and He deserves all glory, laud, and honor. But there are so many other chosen ones in Scripture. Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Judah, Saul, David, Solomon, and all the prophets, even Pharaoh and Cyrus, culminating in John the Baptist. I believe there were many more chosen ones. 
          John the Baptist was no less chosen than Jesus the Christ, but he was chosen for a different role. So were all the other chosen ones mentioned in Scripture. America is plays an exceptional role in history, chosen by God, but so did Israel and when Israel got too big headed, she was humbled. Other nations also have roles that they play, and so are no less chosen by God. They may just be like John the Baptist, or one of the others from Scripture, chosen to point to the Lord in their own way. 
          So what does all this mean? It means you might be a chosen one. I might be a chosen one. In fact, we are both chosen ones, but chosen to reflect Him, to point to Him, to glorify Him, not chosen to be Him or to take His place. John the Baptist doesn’t get much credit, but how many of us would step back and say, “He must increase, and I must decrease”?

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