I woke up at 3 am thinking about John the Baptist. As I don’t normally wake up thinking of Bible characters, I assumed this was from God. I was excited yesterday to notice a pattern of success, imprisonment, more discouragement, then greater success (Paul shipwrecked on Some Island started this thinking, and others like the nation of Israel, Joseph, David, and Jesus seem to fit this as well), John the Baptist disrupted this pattern.

If you don’t know the story, he lived a difficult life, had a good bit of success, spoke truth to corrupt power, got thrown in prison, and then was beheaded. When Jesus summarized John’s life, He said there was none greater born among women than John.

This got me thinking differently. Instead of enduring the shipwreck and snakebite for my success, it’s more about being faithful to continue the mission. If the mission costs me my head, it’s not about my head, it’s about preparing the way for Jesus. He must increase, I must decrease.

Continuing the mission is the goal. It appears that my success, from a heavenly perspective, is more about whether or not I was faithful to continue and complete the mission, not how many accolades I receive along the way. From this brief, 3 am overview of John the Baptist, he was faithful, and received praise from Jesus. I guess the big question that there is no easy answer to, is what is my mission?