John 1:26-17
“John answered, ‘I only baptize using water. A person you don’t recognize has taken his stand in your midst. He comes after me, but he is not in second place to me. I’m not even worthy to hold his coat for him.’”
“John told them, ‘I baptize with water, but right here in the crowd is someone you do not recognize. Though his ministry follows mine, I’m not even worthy to be he slave and untie the straps of his sandal.’”
God himself was standing amid the crowd and the Pharisees, Israel’s righteous ones, didn’t recognize him. Clearly, keeping rules do not equate to knowing God. Am I guilty of this too? Have I been oblivious to God’s presence and actions though they occurred in the immediate vicinity? Probably.
Lord, forgive my self-absorption. Let me be ever sensitive to your work, the tyranny of my life’s urgent bowed down before your eternal purposes. I want to work along side you. Show me how. Keep me oriented to your presence in the crowd.