[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=moutains&iid=2352912″ src=”e/d/0/2/Model_Released_Snowboarding_364b.jpg?adImageId=9476499&imageId=2352912″ width=”380″ height=”253″ /]One of my favorite book titles in the ’90s was Bill Hybel’s, Descending Into Greatness.  What a great challenge! More than that, what a deep truth.  A mark of distinction within Christianity is the call to become less; to live in such a way as to magnify the One we are supposed to follow.

The call to take the “lower chair” in order to honor someone else is not only counterintuitive, but, dare I say, contra-human.  Our culture professes to want everyone to win, to make all things egalitarian but still practices the “survival of the fittest” mantra we adopted in the nineteenth century.  The only time we value equality is when the ease of mediocrity outweighs the need for excellence.

The man referred to as “John the Baptist” was an extraordinary individual.  John’s way of life testified to complete clarity regarding his purpose and passion as a human being and as a creation of the God he served.  John did not allow the opinions of others to dissuade him from performing his life’s work and nor did John countenance the temptation to be jealous of his cousin’s growing popularity.

Because John’s earthly story ends with beheading, we have oft forgotten the power of his life.  It is life worth talking about and seeking emulate.

My friends at Main Street will be doing so this week.