HE MUST INCREASE… WE MUST DECREASE
John 3: 26-30 says: “They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan--the one you testified about--look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him. To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.” NIV [The NRSV reads: “He must increase, but I must decrease.”]
“People wanted to know what John the Baptist thought about the young upstart, Jesus, who appeared to be taking away John’s job. “All are going to him,” they said. (John 3:26) NRSV
To their surprise, John was not upset at all. In fact, John told them that all was as it should be. In a bold statement of self-denial, John repeated his insistence that he himself was not the Messiah. Instead, John compared himself to the “best man” at a wedding, the one who stands next to the groom on that happy occasion, and has only good will for the attention given to his friend. John explained that this was the way it was meant to be, saying, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3: 30)
John’s testimony here is an apt confession for us as well. When we consider our own lives of faith--our reason for hope and confidence, and the strength we have to face the challenges before us--it is not about our increase. To rest our faith in Christ is to look to him as the source of our security and comfort. It is to see Christ as the one by whose good grace we live, with no thought to our own merit.
The truth is, in our lives of faith, the more we ourselves decrease (our will, our desire, our control), the more the power of Christ will increase to serve His will and purpose.” (Copyright 2009-Steven King, Sola Publishing, used by permission)
In his book Xealots, Dave Gibbons reflects on the nature of true success as a leader:
“Charlotte’s Web is a wonderful little children’s story by author E.B. White about a spider named Charlotte who lives in a barn just above the stall of a pig named Wilbur. Wilbur is worried that once he grows fat enough, the farmer is going to turn him into bacon. It’s a valid concern.
Charlotte and Wilbur develop a close friendship, and as Wilbur growls larger, Charlotte uses all of her resources to try to rescue Wilbur. She writes messages in her web to convince the farm’s owners that Wilbur is a pig worth saving. The story builds to the final chapter titled “The Moment of Triumph.”
So what was Charlotte’s moment of triumph?
As the story draws to a close, Charlotte the spider is in the barn dying, [Wilbur the pig is being judged at the county fair in a pig contest], and she can hear the roar of applause for Wilbur [as he wins a special prize and thus his life is spared.] Charlotte finds great joy in knowing that her life has meant the success of another, her close friend, Wilbur. Though no one will remember her, the things she has done, and the sacrifice she has made, she is satisfied, having loved her friend in life and in death.”
Gibbons adds “[Leadership] is about fading. The great ones willingly move into irrelevance.”
May we all pray that each one of us will become less, decrease, in terms of our will, our desire, our control; so that the light and love and good news of Jesus Christ will become greater, increase, through our witness for Him! Amen.
Pastor Mark
