Today’s reading is found in John 1:29-34 (NLT)
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! He is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘A man is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’ I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.”
Then John testified, “I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.
A shift in focus can sometimes be necessary. When John the Baptist saw Jesus coming he immediately shifted the focus to the one “who takes away the sin of the world.” Up until that moment the focus had been on John. A crowd had gathered around to see what in the world this man was doing. John knew that his actions were not about him, but instead about preparing the way for the Messiah.
Our focus gets fuzzy at Christmas. At times we forget the reason we are decorating, gathering, and celebrating. The focus of Christmas shifts in the wrong direction. How differently would John’s story have looked if he had tried to keep the attention on himself instead of placing it where it rightfully belongs.
Make this Christmas different – place your focus on the promise of Christmas.
Take some time today to focus your mind on Christ, the Messiah, and consider this question:
What is one thing you can do today to shift the focus back to Jesus this Christmas?