by Pastor Ryan White
John 3:30 - “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
These are the words of John the Baptist and some of my favorite. John said this after a discussion between some of his disciples and a Jew. They had seen that Jesus and his disciples were baptizing more people than John. And more and more people were leaving John to hear Christ. For a while, John had been the main attraction. But now he was losing some of the attention and popularity.
John’s answer to them wasn’t sad. He didn’t admit that they were right and that he was bummed out that his numbers were dwindling. John understood his place and his role. He told them that he wasn’t the Christ. He was just supposed to come before him and set him up. John understood that his purpose wasn’t to look good for himself and receive praises for his good work. So, he comes to this conclusion: Jesus must increase, I must decrease.
If this was true for John the Baptist, I believe it is true for me. I am called to do something for God, but it’s not about me receiving attention or praise. If I am going to do some work for God, He must keep increasing while I must decrease.
Do I become a puppet on a string with no decision making capabilities? No. Do I become some sort of mindless zombie unaware of my actions? No. I become more like Him.
Paul had the right idea of what it meant to decrease when he wrote Galatians 2:20. He said, “I am crucified with Christ...the life I live is Him living through me.” (paraphrasing) I want my life to be about God’s will and plan. It’s not about me. I want my agenda to decrease and His agenda to increase.
In a month dedicated to prayer and fasting we should see ourselves decrease and God increase. May the things of earth become strangely dim in the light of God's glory and grace (someone ought to write a song about that some day)!
In my life, I want to have the attitude of John the Baptist. It’s not about people seeing the good I do or giving me a pat on the back. It's about people seeing Jesus for who He is--all the glory to God!
Passage Guide: Acts 21 & Psalm 149