John the Baptist is one of the most colorful characters in the New Testament. The story of John is about a man who prepared people for the coming of Jesus.  It is important to point out that long before John showed up, the Old Testament prophets of Malachi and Isaiah told of a time when a person would arrive on the scene proclaiming that the Messiah was on his way.    

In Malachi we find, “A messenger of God will go ahead of you.”  And from Isaiah, “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”  John the Baptist was the fulfillment of these prophecies.  John had a clear purpose in life.  To tell people about Jesus, to prepare folks for his arrival, and to encourage them to repent or to turn their lives back to God.  He passionately encouraged people to open up their hearts and their lives to God and for what God was about to do through Jesus.    

John profoundly affected people around him.  He shook people up by what he said, by how he acted, and in fact by how he looked.  When people were around John they paid attention.

As a result of John, folks thought about their lives and what was important.  They thought about God and what it means to have a God that is fully present.  They thought about how they had fallen short and what they needed to do to set things right in their lives and relationships.  They spent time thinking about their passions, affections, and attachments as well as their purpose in life.

As I think about John and who he was and the impact he had, I am compelled to offer some questions for each one of us to think about this Advent season.  

John’s life proclaimed Jesus.  Who or what do our lives proclaim?  Who or what do our lives point to?  What principles and values do our lives represent?  What do people take away from us after an encounter with us? What rubs off of you and of me onto others?    

Whether or not we know it or intend it, people are affected by being around us.  And what rubs off of us can run the gamut from things that are debilitating to destructive to life changing to healing to leading people to Jesus.  So the question is, what do you want to rub off on others as a result of people being around you?  What do you want people to take away from being with you?  

I know I have fallen short in many ways throughout my life.  I have done and said things I regret.  Not all of whom I have been has reflected my true values.  And sadly, some of what has rubbed off of me onto to others is not what I really would have wanted.  Perhaps you have had some of these feelings too.  

But I also know that you and I are on a journey.  That we can ask God to help us.  We can repent and turn back to God.  We can take the time to stop and think about the questions I’ve posed and what rubs off of us.  

While you and I are not like John the Baptist, there is no doubt that we can have a massive impact on those we encounter.  I invite you over the Advent days ahead to take some time to pray, think about, and dig deep within your heart, about what it is that rubs off of you onto others.  And my prayer for each of us is that what we exude most of all to everyone we encounter is the love of God, a love so desperately needed at this time in our land.