The Real Deal

Text: Luke 7:20
When the men had come to him, they said, ‘John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”’ (NRSV)

This year I have learned a lot about things that I never thought I would ever need to know about in order to be the pastor of a local church.  As we have been forced by the global pandemic to move from primarily worshiping inside a building with our family and friends to worshiping in our homes by watching our church’s live stream, I have had to figure out how to bring the best worship experience into your homes that I could.

I researched the best video cameras in our price range.  I researched the best switchers and capture cards for our computers. I researched the best platforms for getting our worship to you on our website, our Facebook page, our YouTube channel, and now, our phone app.  I researched phone apps and learned how to create and update one. I researched the best church related websites and how to design, create, and update one.  I researched the best video editors for creating smooth transitions between our content which was coming from multiple sources.  And while I was doing this, one question kept popping into my mind, “is this the product that I have been looking for—hoping for—or should I wait for another?”

I think it is human nature to want to hold off on committing to something until you are sure that what you have found is the real deal, the authentic thing, the one you have been waiting for.  John the Baptist was no different.  John sent his disciples to Jesus to research the situation and to discover if Jesus was the Messiah that he and all of Israel had been waiting for.  And, of course, Jesus didn’t let him down.  He was the real deal, the authentic thing, God’s Son who had come to bring salvation not only to Israel, but to the world.

What are you waiting for?  Are you still looking for the One who will bring you what you need to have victory in this life and entrance into the glory that is to come?  Are you still wondering if Jesus is the one or if you should wait for another?  All I can say is that I have done my research and I know that it is Jesus who has brought me through the hard times that this broken world has thrown at me, I know that it is Jesus that brings me peace in the midst of crisis, joy in the midst of suffering, and forgiveness and eternal life in a world filled with sin and death.  Jesus is the real deal!

Pray with me:
God of love and God of victory thank you for giving your Son Jesus to me that I might know the authentic power of the true Messiah.  Your love and grace have raised me to new life in this broken world and have guaranteed to me eternal life in the world to come.  AMEN.