What do Joseph and John the Baptist have in common?

This week I finished reading another NT Wright's book "After You Believe - Why Christian Character Matters". Despite all the years of being a Christian, I have never been completely free of the inner struggle of grace versus works. There were too many days to be counted when I had the doubt that I couldn't be a Christian because I didn't do all the things I was supposed to do and did all the things I was not supposed to do (see Paul's struggle in Romans 7:19). This is especially burdensome when you read the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). NT Wright gave his insight into the Beatitudes:
"Jesus is not meaning either 'If you manage to behave in this way, you will be rewarded' (a kind of legalist solution) or 'Now that you've believed in me and my kingdom project, this is how you must behave" (a sort of thing some post-Reformation theology might insist on)... What Jesus is saying, rather, is, 'Now that I'm here, God's new world is coming to birth; and, once you realize that, you'll see that these are habits of heart which anticipate that new world here and now.' These qualities - purity of heart, mercy, and so on - are not, so to speak, 'things you have to do' to earn a 'reward', a 'payment'. Nor are they merely the 'rule of conduct' laid down for new converts to follow... They are, in themselves, the signs of life, the language of life, the life of new creation, the life of new covenant, the life which Jesus came to bring." (page 106 - with my emphasis)

He explained what Jesus meant when he asked us to follow him:
"Jesus's call to follow him, to discover in the present time the habits of life which point forward to the coming kingdom and already, in a measure, share in its life, only makes sense when it is couched in the terms made famous by Dietrich Bonhoeffer: 'Come and die.' Jesus didn't say, as do some modern evangelists, 'God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.' Nor did he say, 'I accept you as you are, so you can now happily do whatever comes naturally.' He said, 'If you want to become my followers, deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me' (Mark 8:34). He spoke of losing one's life in order to gain it, as opposed to clinging to it and so losing it. He spoke of this in direct relation to himself and his forthcoming humiliation and death, followed by resurrection and exaltation. Exactly in line with the Beatitudes, he was describing, and inviting his followers to enter, an upside-down world, an inside-out world, a world where all the things people normally assume about human flourishing, including human virtue, are set aside and a new order is established." (page 115 - with my emphasis)

He also gave me new insight into Romans 12:2 "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." by connecting it to Philippians chapter 1. He explained:
"Another passage which sits tightly alongside Romans 12 is found near the start of the letter to the Philippians: 'This is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you can figure out properly things that differ from one another, so that you may be blameless and innocent for the day of the Messiah, filled with the fruits of righteousness which come through Jesus the Messiah to the glory and praise of God (1:9-11 Wright's emphasis)'... Paul wants them, of course, to grow in love; but this love is not a matter of 'undisciplined squads of emotion,' but a thought-out habit of the heart - the heart knowing why it approves what it approves and why it disapproves what it disapproves. All this has the forward look that is common to classic virtue-teaching. "The day of the Messiah' is coming, when you will be 'complete,' as he has said earlier in verse 6: "The one who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of the Messiah, Jesus."... don't suppose for a minute that this grace will work without your mind being fully engaged... The more genuinely spiritual you are, according to Romans 12 and Philippians 1, the more clearly and accurately and carefully you will think, particularly about what the completed goal of your Christian journey will be and hence what steps you should be taking, what habits you should be acquiring, as part of the journey toward that goal, right now." (page 157-158)

I can go on and on what I have learned from this book, on the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), Paul's famous passage on love (1 Corinthians 13), and on God's call to be priests and rulers.

This takes me back to the topic of this blog. What do Joseph and John the Baptist have in common? Their stories in scripture reminded me that despite their short comings God used them to bring about his purpose. Joseph, a proud young man, was betrayed by his own brothers and sold to Egypt as a slave, would eventually save the people of Israel from starvation and certain extinction. His famous verse:
"You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." (Genesis 50:20)
John the Baptist, although had doubt about Jesus while being confined in a jail cell, received this accolade from Jesus:
" Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." (Matthew 11:11)
Now there is hope for me, even the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John the Baptist!

"But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life." (St. Paul, 1 Timothy 1:16)