Matthew 3:8 And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.
The above is John the Baptist talking to the religious leaders of his day. People were coming out to him to be baptized because there was something in the air- an expectation that something was going to happen and they needed to prepare themselves for it. John gave them a clue and a command- “Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (vs. 3). You might have thought that John would have appreciated the presence of the religious leaders. It might have been a good connection for him, maybe even led to some financial support. But he doesn’t. He tells them they are misguided in their trust of their ancestry to make them good with God. We all trust something to make us believe we are alright. Maybe it is that we are better than someone else or more fortunate or a harder worker or are smarter or whatever. John was trying to turn their perspective around. God could raise people with these attributes right out of the stones (or thin air). Repentance means trusting not in personal attributes but in the giver of all good gifts. This Advent ask yourself where your trust lies.
Logan Memorial Presbyterian Church 