JOHN 3:30 – “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
THEME OF THE DAY: WE ARE NOT INDESPENSIBLE. Imagine having a following as a spiritual leader. It doesn’t have to be a large group of followers. Size doesn’t matter. God determines the width of our influence. And it doesn’t have to be someone in full-time ministry. It could be a faithful Sunday school teacher, small group leader, or an influential lay person in the office of elder or deacon.
As we serve in whatever capacity the Lord places us, we see Him using us. It is humbling. Then, the day comes we are to be replaced. Someone else comes along and we realize it is time for us to step aside. How would we react? That is an important question because how we answer that reveals who is really behind our service – the Lord or us – and what is our attitude toward the one replacing us – thanksgiving for another brother and sister being able to serve or with bitter envy?
In today’s scripture, John the Baptist is in the process of being replaced. His work for God is concluding. He has fulfilled what was prophesied about him in the major prophet book of Isaiah – “In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’” Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins” (Matthew 3:1-6).
John the Baptist was the man – a prophesied voice in the wilderness pointing people to Jesus. And he knew his role, and what we read in today’s scripture indicates he embraced it. This man of God lived to see Jesus increase and himself, decrease. That is hard to do especially when his ministry was effective, but it was effective because it maintained course – make much of Jesus and nothing of himself.
When it comes to our service for the Lord, we must keep two things in perspective. First, we are servants with the stewardship of our service. We don’t own our ministry for the Lord. Whether working in the nursery, greeting at the church, teaching a Sunday school class, visiting the sick, or preaching a sermon, our service is given to us by the Master, for the Master, and not for ourselves. How we respond when we are replaced tells us immediately if we believe that.
The second perspective is to ensure that we are seeing Jesus increase in our lives and service and ourselves decrease which demonstrates that we believe, really believe, we are dispensable which means we are not indispensable. The Lord grows His people and His church. He determines the length and depth of our service, as well as the resources (servants) for His work. Yes, we are privileged to serve but we are not indispensable in the service.
Jesus must increase and we must decrease. Those are the simple marching orders we are to adhere to each day of our lives. Such simplicity leads to joy in service, and fruitfulness as the Master directs.
PRAYER: Father, help me to live by making much of Your Son and nothing of myself.
REFLECTION: The daily battle in the Christian life is to put self to death for Jesus’ sake.