“What should we do then?” the crowd asked. 11 John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.” 12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?” 13 “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them. 14 Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.” Luke 3.10-14Here is the edited version with corrections for spelling, grammar, and clarity while maintaining the original structure and intent:
A transformed life is a faithful life. It’s an obedient life. It’s not always a radical, sell-everything-you-own type of life.
In this passage, John is preaching a gospel of repentance from sin. Three groups of people ask him how they might “act” in keeping with repentance. To the crowd, he says, if you have two, share one with another, and do the same with food. To the tax collectors, he says, don’t collect more money than is required. To the soldiers who asked, he said—don’t extort money or accuse people falsely. And, he adds, be content with your pay.
These are not groundbreaking guidelines. Nowhere does he tell these people to sacrifice everything, sell their homes, give up their jobs, and become radical disciples. Now, Jesus did that with His disciples, and that call is still very much alive and well! But with John, and the common follower of God, he makes minor tweaks, suggestions, and remarks that will keep them on the path to faithful living.
Only a few will have the impact of a Billy Graham or Mother Teresa. Some may impact thousands, others hundreds, but most will impact just a handful of people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Those will impact co-workers, family members, neighbors, and perhaps some strangers. That is where most people live, and that is completely okay. God does not intend for everyone to be the quarterback of the team. Some need to serve as linemen, kickers, running backs, coaches, and trainers. A football team takes many more people to be successful than just the person who throws the ball.
The common calling to follow Christ, as John was starting to lay out, is faithful obedience. Continue doing what we do, but do it with integrity. It matters what we do, what we think, how we speak, and how we act. Discipleship of Christ begins right there, in everyday moments and actions in which God is honored and Christ is glorified through us.
What must you do to maintain your own faithful obedience to Jesus? How is God calling you to live so that your life might reflect His glory?
“O Lord, I am thankful for how You have blessed me. I am but a humble servant, seeking to walk according to Your ways. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Help me be Your hands and feet so I might reflect Your image. Transform me by Your love and fill me with Your power and might. For You are good, and Your love endures forever.” Amen