Luke 7:21-27: in context

After John the Baptist's disciples leave, Jesus turns to the crowd and praises John with a series of questions. What did you go out into the wilderness to see? he asks. A reed shaken by the wind? A man dressed in soft clothing? No; those in soft clothing and luxury are in kings' palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, and more than a prophet. Jesus commends John as one who was not a reed swayed by every wind, nor soft and self-indulgent, but a steadfast prophet, the promised messenger who prepared the Lord's way.

Two things Jesus commends in John are worth noticing. First, John was not a reed shaken by the wind. A reed bends whichever way the wind blows, swayed by every gust; and John was not like that. He was steadfast, firm in his message and his conviction, not swayed by the pressures and opinions around him, not bending to please the crowd or those in authority. He stood firm, unmoved by the winds that would have bent a lesser man. Second, John was not a man of soft clothing and luxury. He lived simply, austerely, in the wilderness, denying himself the comforts and indulgences that others pursued. He was self-denying, not soft; his life was marked by discipline, not indulgence. Both of these Jesus holds up for praise. And both search us. The first, John's steadfastness, challenges our tendency to be swayed by every wind. We can be like reeds, bending to the opinions and pressures around us, changing our convictions to suit our company, swayed by whatever wind blows strongest. Jesus commends the opposite: a steadfastness that stands firm, unmoved by the pressures and opinions that would sway us. That we may no longer be children, Paul says, tossed to and fro by every wind. The steadfast faith that does not bend with every wind is what Jesus praises in John. And the second, John's self-denial, challenges our pull toward comfort and indulgence. John was not soft; he denied himself, lived simply, disciplined rather than indulgent. We can be drawn instead toward softness, comfort, and self-indulgence, avoiding the discipline and self-denial that following God involves. Jesus commends John's austere, self-denying life, marked by discipline rather than the pursuit of comfort. This calls us to a steadfast, self-denying faithfulness. Jesus praised John as one who was not a reed shaken by the wind, nor a man of soft indulgence, but a steadfast, disciplined servant of God. And we are called to the same: to a steadfastness that stands firm rather than bending to every wind of opinion and pressure, and to a self-denial that chooses discipline over the pursuit of comfort and indulgence. Not swayed by every wind, not softened by the pursuit of comfort, but steadfast and self-denying, as John was, the servant Jesus commends.

Am I like a reed shaken by the wind, swayed by the opinions and pressures around me, changing my convictions to suit my company, or drawn toward softness, comfort, and self-indulgence rather than discipline, and can Jesus' praise of John, who was neither a reed shaken by the wind nor a man of soft clothing but a steadfast, self-denying prophet, move me toward a steadfastness that stands firm against every wind and a self-denial that chooses discipline over the pursuit of comfort?