God prophesied and created John to fulfill a unique purpose in the history of mankind and in the divine plan of God’s redemptive work of man on earth. The Old Testament prophets recorded the Word of God and the angel Gabriel declared the message of God regarding what He would do not only through Zacharias and Elizabeth, but also through their son whom they would give birth to after both of their bodies had ceased being able to reproduce. God used this miraculous event in their lives to convince Mary of the miraculous event He willed to do in her life. John did fulfill the purpose God had for him, and he did submit to God’s will for him in his life. He did proclaim the message of redemption God had given to him. He did confront people with their need to be right with the true God and Creator of us all. He did help people identify the truth of God’s provision of His salvation in His only begotten Son, Jesus the Christ. He did point people to Jesus as the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world. He was willing to give the attention that had been on him to the One on whom it really needed to be on- God the Son. He did prepare people to follow Jesus and he pointed them toward following Jesus themselves. He was a faithful servant of the Lord who was honest with himself and with God when he had some doubts because of how things were going in his life. Like John, God has a purpose and will for each of our lives. God has designed and created each of us to be a vital part of His redemptive work on earth while we live here with others. It is up to each of us to do His will for our lives much like John fulfilled God’s will for his life. We are here to serve the Lord and to bring Him glory in our lives. We are here to influence others to follow Jesus in their lives as we follow Him in our lives. We are here to bring the attention of others to the Lord and His truth, not to ourselves and our ideas. We are here to prepare people for the coming again of Christ, much like John prepared people for the coming of Christ in the incarnation of God with us. We are here to help people get ready for the coming of the King of kings and Lord of lords who will rule and reign on the earth and be our Judge as the eternal God He has always been which is similar to how John helped people get ready to know Jesus as their Saviour and not merely a babe in a manger.