Mark 1:9-15 (NRSV) In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’ And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him. Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’
Jesus was a man with a mission. He was a person with a purpose. His mission and His purpose were to serve God by offering people the opportunity to live in God’s Kingdom. Jesus was a man with a mission. He was a person with a purpose. Are you? Do you have a sense of God’s purpose directing your life? Do you live each day responding to God’s call and purpose for your life?
We are not sure when Jesus became aware of His God-given purpose, maybe at His birth, perhaps by the time He was twelve. We do know that on this day at the River Jordan He was given clarity about that purpose. He was given confirmation of that purpose. That purpose was clarified and confirmed in His baptism. But, notice what happens next. A sense of God’s purpose directing our life does not put us on easy street. Instead, the Spirit immediately drove Jesus out into the wilderness. And, in the wilderness Jesus was tempted. Jesus struggled with His sense of call. How would He offer people the opportunity to live in God’s Kingdom? He struggled, He was tempted by Satan and was with wild beasts.
More than likely we also spend some time in a wilderness where we hear threats of failure and of a miserable life. But there are angels who minister to us saying, “You are beloved of God. You are doing the right thing. You are beloved of God. You are doing the right thing.” Angels come in many ways, but they come with the voice of God’s care and the confirmation of God’s call. And that is the point. Our struggle in the wilderness is not a blind struggle. We can recognize the sound of wild beasts threatening us and we can recognize the voice of the angels God sends to help us.
Do you have a sense of God’s purpose leading your life? Do you want a sense of God’s purpose leading your life? We do not think it up for ourselves.
We are given a sense of purpose. We are offered a sense of purpose that comes from someone else. It is a gift from God.
From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope March 12, 2000
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles
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