Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
History and Religion
How Ordinary And Extraordinary Lives Contribute to History

How Ordinary And Extraordinary Lives Contribute to History

Last updated on: January 4, 2026 at 2:57 am by Henry Karlson

0 Comments

How Ordinary And Extraordinary Lives Contribute to History 2026-01-04T02:57:41-05:00 Henry Karlson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art: Medallion Of Saint John the Baptist, a prophet who knew his place in history / Wikimedia Commons

Great events in history do not emerge from nowhere. They come out of the events which came before them, building upon them, expanding upon them, making something new out of them. Similarly, great people do not come out of nowhere. They come from all those who preceded them and all that happened before they lived. All history, all humanity, is interconnected. Great events come out of lesser events, building upon them, making those lesser events important even if we forget them. Likewise, the people involved in those lesser events are important as they they helped prepare the way for those who came after them. Indeed, some of them would have been deemed as great except someone greater, someone far more extraordinary emerged during their lifetime, eclipsing them. This, of course, is true with salvation history; in it, we find not only many lesser people and events preceding Christ, we find many great events and people as well. They all prepared the world for Christ, with one of those predecessors being alive during Christ’s life, that being John the Baptist:

John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And there went out to him all the country of Judea, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins (Mk. 1:4-5 RSV).

John, and his greatness, received great amounts of attention by his contemporaries. His greatness was certainly Jewish in nature as he took upon himself and developed a Jewish ritual, making it something new as it became a hallmark of his own ministry. Yet, those who saw or heard him saw something amazing, something new, emerging with him. It is hard for us to understand how much of a shock to the system he must have been. He followed the path set up by the prophets who came before him, criticizing the authorities and their abuses even as he warned everyone else that they must also make straight their way so that they could be ready for the kingdom of God. He made it clear that everyone should attune themselves to God and God’s justice. But, however great he was, he knew he was just a messenger, and his greatness lay in the way he fulfilled that task:

As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way; the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight” (Mk. 1:2-3 RSV).

John was phenomenal, but he knew that he was a mere messenger, and people should not put their focus on him. He wanted people to be ready for Christ. Were he alive at any other time, he would have been the most remarkable man of his time, and certainly, many viewed him as such as we can see the way his contemporaries remembered him, and in the way some sought to follow him long after he died, forming their own religious tradition around him. He, and his prophetic calling, was a necessary precondition for the incarnation; though great, he, like everyone else, could only be seen as someone who was less than the one he knew was to emerge, the incarnate God-man, Jesus. He wanted people to be open to the Spirit, and the grace of the Spirit, which he believed was to come among them, given out by the one who he knew was about to be revealed to all:

Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, and had a leather girdle around his waist, and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (Mk. 1:6-8 RSV).

John’s message worked; many came to him, repented of what they had done. They were ready to change and become better. They were ready for God to work in and with them. He knew what God could do because he, while in his mother’s womb, had the Holy Spirit come upon him. He saw the way God directed him and hoped others could be inspired similarly. But he knew it was up to God; he could not give what he had been given to others. He could only help people repent and change, establishing the character they needed to welcome the Spirit in their own lives.

Now, we find ourselves waiting for the second coming of Christ, and with it, the eschatological judgment. That is, we await for the final event of history. As long as history continues, people have the chance to receive the Holy Spirit and let it sanctify them, helping them experience, in part, the eschatological glory. All they need to do is embrace it, following its prompting, and if they do so, they will find their lives are full of significant events which, even if they do not appear great in history, are great, as they will help inspire other, greater events, some which are greater than they could ever imagine. Only in the eschaton will the true nature of all the events of history be revealed to all. Thus, like Paul, we must recognize, if we follow the Spirit and engage it properly all our lives, we will see the fruit of our actions in the eschaton:

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing (2 Tim. 4:7-8 RSV).

Our lives, as they are a part of temporal history, might often seem pointless; but the reality is they matter; what we do matters, and what we do helps establish what comes next in history. While we might not know how or why, we should believe that our contribution to world history is important, helping to shape what comes next, not only in time, but in eternity itself.

Stay in touch! Like A Little Bit of Nothing on Facebook.
If you liked what you read, please consider sharing it with your friends and family!

N.B.: While I read comments to moderate them, I rarely respond to them. If I don’t respond to your comment directly, don’t assume I am unthankful for it. I appreciate it. But I want readers to feel free to ask questions, and hopefully, dialogue with each other. I have shared what I wanted to say, though some responses will get a brief reply by me, or, if I find it interesting and something I can engage fully, as the foundation for another post. I have had many posts inspired or improved upon thanks to my readers.

General Christian

History and Religion

Previous Post

January 1, 2026

Grounding Our Faith Beyond Miracles And Visions

Next Post

January 6, 2026 The Grace Unleashed In Christ's Baptism

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"Gosh, did that hit the spot. I have been having great anxiety lately. And I ..."

Mark Wilson

Rejecting Doom: Christian Hope And Human ..."

"Justice and peace are two sides of the same coin. Where there is justice, there ..."

Dr.Cajetan Coelho

Justice First, Charity Beyond It: Serving ..."

"Thank you for your very, very powerful and very, very insightful analysis of the relationship ..."

alwayspuzzled

Justice First, Charity Beyond It: Serving ..."

"Given the amount of lethal malevolence that has prevailed in human history for the past ..."

alwayspuzzled

We Must Value Our Health

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Abortion Abraham abuse Aesthetics AI Aliens Ambrose Ancestors and Everything Andrew Angels Animals Anne Anthony Antisemitism apologetics Apophatic Apostle John Aquinas Artificial Intelligence Asanga Ascension Asceticism Assumption Atheism Attachment Augustine Authority Avarice Balthasar Baptism Beauty Biden birthright citizenship Bishops Black History Books Buddhism Bulgakov Byzantine Calendar C.S. Lewis Calcidius Catholic Catholicism Catholicism Celibacy Charity Chastity children Chrismation Christ Christmas Christology Church Climate Change Common Good Communion Confession Confirmation Conscience Constantine conventions conversion councils Covid Creation Cross Dead Death Death Penalty Debate Deception Demagogues Demons Desert Monks Desert Mothers Desire destruction development Dialogue Dignity Dionsyius Dionysius Discipline Diversity Division Doctor Who doctrine dogma Dormition Dualism Easter Easter Series Ecumenical Councils Ecumenism Education Election Empathy Environment Error Eschatology eschaton Eternity Ethics Eucharist Evangelism Eve Evil evolution Faeries Faith Fear femininity Ficino Florence Florensky Folktale Fools Forgiveness Freedom Future gender Gentile Gentiles Glory Gnostic God gods Good Samaritan Goodness Gospel Government Grace Great Fast Guns Hate healing Health Heaven Hell Hellenism Heresy Hierarchy Hildegard Hinduism History Holiness Holy Spirit Holy Week Hope Horror Human rights humanity Humility hypocrisy ICE icon icons Identification Identity Idol II Nicea Immigration incarnation Individualism Informal Reflections Inklings Intention Inter-Religious Interfaith Internet Interpretation Intrinsic evil Irenaeus Islam Israel Jacob Jerome Jesus Jews John Chrysostom John of Damascus John the Baptist Joseph Judaism justice Justification kenosis Kindnesss Kingdom of God Kingdom of Heaven Law Law of Moses Lazarus Leaf by Niggle Lent Lenten Reflection Liberation Theology Lies Life Listen Literature Liturgy locutions Logic Logos Love Marriage Martyrs Mary Mass Maximos The Confessor Meanness Meditation Mercy Middle Path Migrants Mind Miracles Miriam Morals Moses Movies Music Muslims Myths Names Nationalism Native Americans New Year Nicea Nicholas Nothing Novatian Obedience Occam's Razor Ordination Origen Original Sin Orthodox orthopraxis Pagans Palamas Palm Sunday Paradise Paschaltide Paul Peace Pentecost person Peter piety PKD Plato pluralism Plurality Poem Poetry Poiltics Politics Poor Pope Pope Francis Pope Leo XIV Post Office Prayer Pride Pro-life Prodigal Son propaganda Prophecy Prophets Providence Putin Racism Reading Reason Reflection Refugees Relationships Religion Religion Series Religious Liberty Repent Republicans Rest Resurrection Rich Rites Russia Sacraments Saints Salvation Salvian Santa Science Scripture Self-Giving Sexuality Sibyl Sick Silence Sin Singlehood Social Justice Society Sodom Solovyov Speculations Spiritual Reflection St. Cyril of Alexandria St. Justin Martyr Suffering Sunday of the Paralytic Man Sunday of the Samaritan Woman Superhero Supreme Court Teaching Technology Thanksgiving The Father the Universe Theological Reflection Theology Theosis Theotokos Thomas Timaeus Time Tolerenace Tolkien Tradition Transfiguration Trinity Trump Truth Uncategorized Unity Universities USCCB Value Vatican II Vegetarian Vices Violence Virtue Vocations War Water Welcome Wisdom Womanhood Women Work World View Worship Writing Zacchaeus

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz