We are the John the Baptists

We are the John the Baptists

We are the radical laid-down, John the Baptist lovers

who eat rice and beans instead of locusts and honey

who don't bathe for days because they are in the bush

proclaiming Jesus to remote villages,

saying “Prepare your hearts! The King is coming!”

We are the John the Baptists, the relative of Jesus

the one who gives up his everything for God, even his very life.

We are the John the Baptists, baptizing with water and fire.

We have the fire that John didn't have,

We have the fire burning in us,

burning our hearts up so much we can't seem to contain it.

We have to sing it out, we have to dance it out,

our every cell screams “Jesus!”

Every fibre in our body shouts aloud:

“Make ready your hearts! Jesus is coming!”

Our souls sing with the angels when the children come home.

Our war cries call forth hordes of angels around our caminhao

They come with blazing torches and shining swords,

releasing the Holy of Holies here on earth,

even in the sun and dust and sweat.

We are the John the Baptists, the

“Why on earth would you do that?” ones.

The ones asked “Aren't there Bible schools you could go to in America?”

“Why go all that way?”

Why come all this way? Why NOT?

Why not, when God, the ruler of heaven and earth, calls you

in the middle of the night with dreams of African children.

Why not go when God shuts every other open door,

but refuses to shut the door labeled

“Mozambique.”

Why on earth are we here?

We're here to be the voice in the desert, the voice in the bush

the voice calling out to the very farthest reaches of creation,

the farthest reaches of civilization

“Jesus is coming! The king is coming for His bride!

Come all you who are thirsty and hungry,

Come to the wedding feast of a lifetime, the wedding feast of all eternity.”

I wrote this in Pemba. Its really for Harvest School students, but anyone can benefit!