My dear boy,
John the Baptist: a man who understands he was born to die. As difficult as this sounds, I would like to sum up the life of John the Baptist as such. Every man is confronted with a similar weight, in the sense that there is a certain fear that we have about when it’s all said and done. Perhaps it arises from societal expectations. Jesus, at the point where He is to do that for which He was sent, says, Let this cup pass from me. This moment was a done deal. It had been concluded before the foundations of the world were set. As such, He knew. He wasn’t oblivious to that, yet He paused.
Today, however, is not about Him. It’s about the man whose purpose was to set straight the way for Him. John was born for such a time as this, and for one purpose, and one purpose only- to get the people ready for his coming. In other words, the minute He comes, his assignment is done. And if his assignment is done, there is no need to hang around. Nonetheless, a time comes when John asks, Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another? This suggests that at some point this man got a little confused about the assignment and who Jesus ought to be.
At times, we find ourselves in situations that challenge the beliefs that have shaped our lives, the very same beliefs upon which our sense of purpose is built. It is for this very reason that understanding the assignment accurately is integral to the execution of the assignment. See, not understanding the task while executing the task leaves us falling short of the expectations thereof. This sinks us deeper into despair in the long run. Hence, when John asks, “Are you the one, or should we wait for another?” it is not that he is ignorant of the person of Jesus, because he tells us who Jesus is. Rather, it is an attempt to reconcile expectation and unfolding realities. In other words, what made him doubt what he knew was his current predicament. I would like to state that it is often fueled by societal expectations.
Anyway, a close examination of John’s life will suggest that he did not die untimely. Untimely death is simply dying before having done that which you were living to do. Hence, once it’s completed, it’s done; and you have no reason to be here. Now, one may ask, is it possible that, having completed your assignment, the Lord will give you something else? No. Understand this: you were building your dreams thinking it was your assignment. Nonetheless, while you build your dreams, God builds your character. A built character is equipped to accomplish what you were sent to do.
Scripture is very clear- Jesus learned obedience by the things He suffered. As such, His obedience became complete, and then He went on and executed his assignment. I would like to think: Jesus’ obedience was deemed complete at the Garden of Gethsemane. Let’s stretch this. Had He not yielded at the Garden, I want to believe there would have been another time. He wouldn’t have died at 33. Then again, is this to suppose that there was some other opportune time? No. It was in that moment that His obedience became complete, in that He yielded to the will of the Father. Invariably, His character, now built, was ready to face that for which he was sent. Conclusively, all the years He lived were just for that very moment.
Ultimately, your length of days is determined by your understanding of your assignment. In other words, the time spent in preparation and the time spent executing determine your length of days. Now, should we open up our senses to dying? Never! Consider the context. Here we learn something. We learn that the minute your assignment is done, you expect to be called home. Simply put, to define a man’s death as “untimely” is to have determined that the man was yet to do that for which he was sent.
Consider a man such as Moses- 80 years of preparation for a 40-year assignment. It favors that you ought to spend more time in preparation than in performance. By preparation, I don’t mean planning, because preparation is active; planning is passive. Say, preparation is simulation for the real thing. It is therefore no coincidence that certain lessons are repeated in a man’s life until he gets it. Because such lessons are integral to the execution of his purpose. Little wonder people say purpose finds you in motion. You want to find your purpose. Begin to prepare.
Now you ask, prepare for what? Just prepare. Do the very thing in front of you. Do that, and it opens up another step to be taken in the direction of your purpose. Your purpose would always eat you up, but what preparation does is that it aligns you with the best practices to execute that said purpose. Cheers, my boy!
Love,
Dad.
