John's message called for repentance...
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John's message called for repentance of sins. Thus baptism signified the transformed life that resulted from confessing one's sins and receiving the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Good News is that no one needs to stay in the ruts of a dysfunctional life. It was such a life with the wrong priorities that the poet, Lord Byron, described in a self-portrait on his thirty-sixth birthday:
My days are in the yellow leaf;
The flowers and fruits of love are gone;
The worm, the canker, and the grief,
Are mine alone!
But we celebrate the Birth that gives life a new direction:
My days are in the golden leaf;
The flowers and fruits of love are real!
The hope, the love, and the peace,
Are mine to share!
Do you know any better news than that?
-- Meddock
My days are in the yellow leaf;
The flowers and fruits of love are gone;
The worm, the canker, and the grief,
Are mine alone!
But we celebrate the Birth that gives life a new direction:
My days are in the golden leaf;
The flowers and fruits of love are real!
The hope, the love, and the peace,
Are mine to share!
Do you know any better news than that?
-- Meddock
