Children of God

John the Baptist was quite a polarising figure in Israel.  He had a devout Jewish upbringing under the Law of Moses and was the son of a respected priest.  His lifestyle was strict and his devotion to God brought back memories of prophets of old--to the point Jews wondered if he could possibly be the Messiah!  At the same time, John spoke without respect of persons, rebuking those who came into the wilderness to be baptised by him.  His fierce upholding of God's word and his severe demeanor against wickedness gained him many followers.  Luke 3:7-9 says, "Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸ Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. ⁹ And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."  Turn or burn, one could say.

John strongly denied he was the Messiah, but he came to prepare the way for Him.  He was the voice of one crying in the wilderness and preached repentance to the people, and many souls turned to God with expectancy.  Some left all to follow him as disciples, and others hated him and did not believe him.  Many went seeking John out of curiosity, to see a local celebrity for themselves, but being baptised was not repentance.  John's words challenged and rattled people who were confident in their heritage and righteousness under the Law, that their talk or undergoing ritual baptism was cheap without a change of mind, heart and life.  He was not satisfied by the droves of people who came to see him or the number of people he and his disciples baptised:  his preaching brought the acute realisation they needed a Saviour--even though Abraham was their father.  The preaching of John worked to shatter self-righteousness and self-confidence so people would see their need for forgiveness and salvation they would discover could only be found by faith in Jesus Christ.

One thing John said that impacts me as a Gentile is the line, "For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones."  To those who could not boast in Abraham being their distant relative, those with whom God made an everlasting covenant with, this is both challenging and encouraging.  It is likely John pointed to stones that littered the ground to make his point, saying God was able to raise up children to Abraham from stones even as God miraculously caused living water to flow from the rock in the wilderness.  God is able to bring life to something that has no life.  He is able to remove a heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh that feels, is sensitive to the Holy Spirit, and is filled with love and compassion that did not exist before.  Do you believe God is able to raise up children for Abraham from stones?  What is encouraging about this is we have seen Jesus Christ fulfill this word, for Gentiles who were alienated from the kingdom of God have been born again by the power of the Gospel and accepted by grace.  As many as have received Jesus by faith, the same He has given the right to become children of God.

Take to heart this lesson from the stones that are inanimate, unfeeling, senseless, dense, hard and heavy objects.  The stones that lie on the ground and we dig up in the garden were formed long before we were born, and will likely remain unmoved long after our bodies turn to dust.  Stones seem permanent and that they can never be something they are not.  When Jesus Christ enters the scene, however, He brings hope to hopelessness and the promise of life where there was no life.  He is able to raise up children of God from stones, and those who have repented of sin and been born again by faith in Jesus are proof of His divine power and grace.  Paul explained this transformation of God's true people in Romans 2:28-29:  it is not by ethnicity but accomplished spiritually by faith in Jesus:  "For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; ²⁹ but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God."  God is able to raise any person to be a true child of Abraham through faith in Christ, and we better believe it!