A Voice

He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”  ~ John 1:23 (ESV)

Jesus had a voice.  Certainly He had His own voice, but He had more than that.  He had the clear, courageous voice of an advocate, John the Baptist.

“I am the voice…”

“…of one…” – John was undaunted by the loneliness of the call.
“…crying…” – this was no marketing pitch, there was nothing subtle in his message or his delivery.
“…in the wilderness…” – into the neglected void of a wasteland.
“Make straight…” – get ready! Fasten your seatbelts.
“…the way…” – singular. THE WAY.
“…of the Lord…” – the Lord. THE LORD. Not me. Not my disciples. The Lord. The one and only.

And in these prophetic words John issued not only a declaration but a commissioning. To be a voice.

“I am the voice…” of one… crying…in the wilderness… make straight…THE WAY… of THE LORD.

Prophecy gives way to illumination as we proclaim – “our Christ came, died, rose and reigns”… our voice shines the light on what has been, what is and what has yet to be.

I am the voice…

One voice.

Pleading… begging… compassionately heartbroken… raising my voice.

Into dark, lonely, forsaken, desperate, cruel and dangerous places.

“Don’t give up!” I shout. “Don’t surrender! Don’t believe the lies! There’s hope!”

It’s Jesus. The Savior. God in the flesh. No other.

One voice.

Speaking truth in the swirl of lies.

Whispering hope in the cesspool of self-destruction.

Proclaiming good news to the poor, liberty to the captives, recovery of  sight to the blind, freedom to those who are oppressed even as I declare the year of the Lord’s favor.  ~ Luke 4:18-19 (ESV)

A commissioning. To us.

One voice.

Into the darkness.

For Jesus. With Jesus. Because of Jesus.