Heed Wisdom's Children

Jesus says in v. 35 that “wisdom is justified by all her children” – in other words, that truth is validated by its outworking in human lives. He taught a related principle in Luke 6:43-45: a tree is known by its fruit. The life of John the Baptist raises three challenging questions for applying this principle: 1) What if following Jesus causes us to suffer? 2) What defines a truly great person? and 3) How happy or serious should we expect the Christian life to be? Jesus orients each of his answers around the Kingdom of God, which is already present, but not yet in its fullness. This kingdom of grace frees us to expect diversity in our Christian experiences, including sacrifice and celebration, triumph and defeat – yet always producing lives that show compelling resemblance to the person of Jesus.