Acts 13:23-25

How Does It All Fit Together?

A Question of Story

As we continue the story of God and His love for humanity, we encounter the beginning point of Jesus’ life in verses 23-25. These verses are the stories we tell around Christmas every year. These are the stories of expectation during the Advent season leading up to Christmas.

John the Baptist is a great example of knowing your role and purpose in God’s story. John had a specific mission while he was on the earth. His job was to prepare the people for the Messiah. His job was to tell the people about the need to repent. John was not the Messiah. John never claimed to be the Messiah. He knew his place. He knew his role. It would have been easy for John to manipulate the people who were following him. He could have claimed that he was God, and people would have believed him. He could have pointed to himself instead of Jesus to gain fame and fortune. But he chose to remain in the role that God had for him in God’s story.

You might be tempted to step outside of the role that God has for you in God’s story. You might want to gain fame, fortune, and followers. But our role as followers of Jesus is not to be the main character of the story. Our role is to point to the main character. We are not the star of the show; God is. The pieces start to fit together more clearly when we know our role in the story.