John 3
John the Baptist is clear in his
thinking when he says, “I am not the Christ.” He wants his followers to
understand that his purpose, the very reason he was born was to be sent before
the Christ to identify Him and point people to Him. And that was what he did
when he saw Jesus. Now that Jesus was there the shift began; “He must increase,
but I must decrease.”
The Christian life reflects that
attitude as well. Our sinful nature would have us look to ourselves for the
highest good. Many of our social and political problems of the day are rooted
in people wanting their desires rather than seeking God’s will – and that goes
for Christians. There is a part of us would say, “I must increase, and all
others, Jesus included, must decrease! How can I be satisfied, attain
enlightenment, obtain comfort, wealth, or influence, if I don’t look to
myself?”
Jesus, on the other hand, gives Himself
for us. He was lifted up on the cross to draw all people to Himself. His blood
atoned for our sins. He shunned comfort, honor, wealth, and power to save
sinners. He did all that to save you.
Experiencing such selfless love humbles
us. The grace Jesus gives to us turns our hearts away from our sinful desires
and back toward Him in repentance. God’s Law convicts us that we have been
selfish and focused on our own increase, but having been forgiven for our sin
it is as if we look back and recognize how great God’s forgiveness is. We
rejoice in it. We want more of what Jesus gives us. We long for Him to increase
in His grace, transforming our lives by His Spirit, and for our sinful self to
decrease.
This applies to how we share our faith,
too. Our experiences of God’s love are great, and it is good to share the ways
we have encountered the Gospel. But we want to make sure that when we share our
stories that we magnify Jesus, and we, then, shrink into the background. He is
the Savior. He is the one we all need. He is the embodiment of God’s love, God’s
only Son, who gives eternal life to all who believe in Him. He came not to
condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
Lord, please increase in me, and let me
decrease in humility and thanksgiving for Your loving kindness and mercy. Amen.
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