Read Luke 3:26-30
Do I Want To Increase Or Do I Want Jesus To Increase?
The disciples of John came to John saying, “That man, Jesus, who you testified about, he is baptizing and everyone is going to him.” John’s response was, “Remember when I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but I am sent ahead of him.’ Now that the Messiah has come, my joy is now complete. Jesus must become greater and I must become less.”
As I read this, I felt John’s disciples were a little jealous that Jesus was “stealing” people from their Ministry. John’s response was very mature, “Jesus must increase and I must decrease.” Isn’t that how it should be for each of us?
I can give testimony, or perhaps we all could give testimony of how we have been used by God to impact a lot of lives. In fact, we have left a name for ourselves. People talk about us and give praise to OUR name and OUR ministry. Satan loves when we fall in this trap of making it about “me” and less about Jesus.
I don’t want people to talk about what Blair is doing for Jesus, but rather, what Jesus is doing through the church, the body of Christ. The work that I do for Jesus, I want it to be done in such a way that it points people to Jesus. I want them to know they too can have a relationship with Jesus. And they too can be used by Jesus as an extension of the church, the body of Christ.
As more and more people come to know the Lord, and are called into Ministry, there may be people that I impacted at one point that are now being impacted by others. I can respond in a selfish manner by saying, “Hey, I led him to Jesus, why are you the one that gets to minister to him?” Rather than rejoice in what God is doing in this man’s life, through the extension of the Body of Christ, I’m jealous! See, I want people to know what I did and make my name popular rather than see us all as a team, a body of Christ, working together, rejoicing together, and seeing growth in others.
Lord, help me make it all about YOU and not about me!
