Lessons from John the Baptist

I have spent this entire week engrossed in studying the book of John for our junior high youth group. I am not teaching it, but I am assisting and hoping to bring more to the table for these awesome young men and women. As I sat here reading and thinking about John the Baptist, one thing stuck into my head. This is the man who baptized Our Lord and Savior! Seriously. How did that moment feel? I would truly love to have been a fly on the water's edge listening to that interchange.
Think about this. You are submerged and baptized in the Holy Spirit, but Jesus IS the Holy Spirit. So, how did that go? Did John stumble on his words? Your pastor always says, 'I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit."
What were John's words? Did he say, I baptize you in ... um.. in.. you? hee hee. Not only is that a something that sticks out in my crazy brain, but imagine the overwhelming feeling of the Holy Spirit in that very moment. I get chill bumps thinking about it! The Bible says that as Jesus came up out of the water, heaven opened, and the Spirit of God, like a dove, descended upon him. Witnesses to the baptism heard a voice from heaven saying, "This is my son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." The presence of God was right there. The Holy Spirit came down upon Jesus. That feeling had to be so powerful, so incredibly overwhelming and beautiful.
And John had devoted his entire life to preparing for the arrival of Jesus. He was a sight to look upon, I'm sure. He was like that fella in Peoria, IL where we used to live that they called Crazy Willie. He would come through and rant and rave and consistently point to Christ. Like a signpost pointing to The Father. He had focused all of his energy toward this very moment. While he was obedient, the very first thing that Jesus asked him to do made him pause. He resisted and felt unqualified.
My reflection then comes to myself. I love to work with the youth in my church. The little preschoolers on Sunday mornings where we get to have a ton of fun and learn the Bible basics! The older kids now in the evenings where I hope to see Jesus working miracles through their very lives. How qualified am I? Do you ever feel like that? Do you feel unqualified to fulfill your mission from God? John felt that he was even unworthy to unfasten the shoes of Jesus. Yet in Luke 7:28, Jesus called John the greatest of all prophets. My passion to work with children is important, and I pray Sunday that the kids hear the lesson and understand that despite how inadequate they may feel, how inadequate we all may feel, those feelings should never hold us back from our God appointed mission.
You never know who you are going to meet or what they are going to see when they look at you. You may be the only Bible people see. You may be the only Jesus people see. What are they seeing in you?