Leadership Lesson from the Biblical Historical Account of Christmas

 

Daily Reading:  Luke 1:67 - 80

And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.

                                                                                            Luke 1:80

               John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus and was used by God to prepare the way of the Lord just as prophecy proclaimed.  What a blessing and what a responsibility.  His birth was announced by the angel Gabriel. He was called the prophet of the Highest. The people believed the Lord was with him (Luke 1:66). He even baptized Jesus (Matthew 3:13 – 17).

               What should catch you attention is that John had no formal training. In fact, John’s upbringing is encapsulated in one verse where we learn that his childhood was spent in the deserts.  He did not spend his time in the Temple or even running in the shadow of the Temple around the streets of Jerusalem.  He did not spend his time at the feet of some recognized expert in the law of Moses– a professional teacher.  Many boys in later years would sit at the feet of Gamaliel like Saul of Tarsus who later became the Apostle Paul, but John did not have that privilege. According to Luke 1:80, John grew physically, spiritually, and emotionally, and continued to grow strong in spirit while maturing in the desert until God was ready to use him in a mighty way.

               We live in a day where we are enamored with the professional and the expert. There is great value in learning a skill through experience, and great value in paying an expert in many cases. However, when it comes to growing spiritually, we have been led to believe a lie. The lie is that we need an expert class to understand the things of Scripture. Again, I am not saying there is no value in formal training or even that God cannot use formal training in your life. But not having formal training should not serve as an excuse to not serve the Lord. John was the forerunner of the Savior of the world with no formal training. All John ever had was his life experience in the desert and training by his father Zacharias.

               God can use your informal experiences and the direction of a godly father or father figure to equip and prepare you to do the good works He has prepared for your life. Do not ever fall prey to the idea that not having formal training somehow disqualifies you.  That is just an excuse to stop you from doing what God has already prepared you to accomplish in life!