Tags

, ,

John the Baptist, or John the Baptizer, was a unique individual. He had an alternate diet. He didn’t eat what everyone else ate. He wore alternate clothing. He didn’t dress like everyone else dressed. He went on the outside of the current religious structures to tell his message concerning  the Kingdom of God. I find that really interesting since his father Zechariah was a priest. 

John could have followed in his father’s footsteps and been a part of the religious establishment but for some reason he did not. I can only imagine the confusion this must have caused his father. John also changed the venue for transformation from the Temple to the river. 

John was a free spirit. He ate differently, dressed differently and preached differently. In writing about him Richard Rohr wrote, “transformed people transform people.” (Richard Rohr, Yes, And… p.54.)

That is so true. John had been transformed and so he was able to help others experience transformation. He was authentic and comfortable with who God created him to be. 

When we speak about the Kingdom of God or about helping other people become who God created them to be, it begins with our own transformation. We must first experience God’s transforming grace in our own life before we can go telling other people about it. You can’t tell what you don’t know. You can’t give away what you don’t have. 

So, as we pray for and work towards transforming the world around us it begins with us. It is only when we are becoming who God created us to be that we are able to help others become who God created them to be. It really is true. Transformed people transform people.