John 1:6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John
Youbook is a company that takes classic stories and injects your name as the hero of the story. For instance, if it was Treasure Island, instead of Jim Hawkins being the hero, Wil Rice would be the hero. Every time the hero’s name is mentioned, it is my name. It is a fun way to personalize classic literature. There is a YouVersion app for the Bible. I have it, and it has been a blessing. I have an iPhone. What do all these things have in common? They are all about I, me, and self. I am not attributing bad motives or vice to these, but I would say that it the governing ethic of the day. The way our culture is. It is about me, me, me.
The problem is we have generations of people who are utterly unhappy and searching for happiness. Ironically, you don’t find happiness by making that your goal. In John 1 you find people who again and again say, “We have found the Messiah, the Christ.” When you read John 1, you are reminded that purpose is when you realize it is not about you. Sometimes the more you try to find purpose, the less of it you have. Purpose is when you realize it is not about you. When you are doing your work, going about your day, seeking affirmation or apology, or something else from other people, those things may be valid, but what a happier life you would live if you realized that it is not about you.
John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Following is a wonderful passage about how heaven connected with earth when God the Son came to this earth. Purpose is when you realize it is not about you. First, Jesus made you. Verse 3 says, “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” Jesus made you by design and on purpose.
So, finding your purpose in life is not by merely finding your career, understanding yourself, or finding money, a name, or a major in college. All those things may have utility, but unless you are a hedonist, there has got to be something more than you, more than now, more than self being affirmed. Jesus made you, and when you acknowledge that, you find purpose. Purpose is when you realize it is not about you. Jesus made you. God Almighty created you and God the Son was there on the day of Creation as shown in John 1, Colossians 1, and Hebrews 1.
Second, Jesus precedes you. Three times in John 1, John says that Jesus is preferred before him. Verse 15 says, “John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.” He came after John, but was preferred before him. That doesn’t just mean that Jesus was better than John, though that was true. “Preferred before” means “to appear in history, to come upon the world stage.” John was born of Elizabeth before Jesus was born of Mary. So, was John older than the eternal God? Is that what we are saying? No, Jesus was there on the day of creation. John simply appeared in birth before Jesus, but the fact is that Jesus preceded John. Jesus created all that one sees. That gave John purpose. The fact that Jesus preceded John in His existence gave John purpose beyond himself.
In verse 31 John says, “But that he [Jesus] should be made to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.” John did what he did because Jesus is who Jesus is. In verse 33, John says, “He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.” There is a lot here, but John was doing what he was doing because God had sent him and Jesus preceded him. It helped with John’s identity. People can have an identity crisis. Who am I? Why am I here? John knew exactly who he was.
When John was getting everyone’s attention by mighty words and works, the religious leaders sent people to say, “Who are you?” John knew who he was. Verse 20 says, “He confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.” That is who they thought he might be, but had rejected the real Christ when He did come. They asked, “Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” They asked, “Are you that prophet?” He said, “No.” You can almost feel the impatience growing in John. He was saying, “I am not the Christ.” His answers were terse and concise. John knew who he was because he knew who Jesus was. Jesus made you, precedes you, and that is what gives you identity.
All of us have things that give us some sense of identity. Maybe you are gifted or capable in some way. You have a good voice for singing, a strong mind for facts and figures, or capable hands for crafting things, but what happens when you lose that ability, when you get so old you cannot do what gives you value now? A lot of our identity is in what we do. If I say, “What do you do?” I am asking about your job. But aren’t you more than your job? Here is a teenager who feels worth because he has a new pair of tennis shoes. What if those tennis shoes wear out? Am I not more than the sum of what I can do and what I can wear?
John knew who he was. That presented for John success. The Bible says that one day John was standing with two of his disciples and saw Jesus and said, “Look, the lamb of God.” The two disciples heard him speak and followed Jesus. John literally lost two of his own disciples that he could have kept if he had kept his mouth shut. But John wasn’t about keeping his mouth shut; He was about bearing witness of Jesus Christ. Losing disciples to Jesus was exactly what John was about. It was his success.
I am a preacher. Preachers can feel successful is we have a lot of followers, a big social media presence, or people affirming our preaching. None of those are necessarily wrong, but if John was a preacher today, I think he would be considered an absolute failure even though Jesus called him an absolute success. Jesus said there was none born of women greater than John. Why? It was because he accomplished what he came to do, point people to Jesus Christ.
Purpose is when you realize it is not about you. Jesus made you; He precedes you; He gives identity, a sense of purpose and success. To be affirmed is good, to know you are doing a good job. We all need that and should give that to others, but to have purpose is much better. Purpose is when you realize it is not about you, but about the God who made you.