John 3:26-30
So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Rabbi, the man you met on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you identified as the Messiah, is also baptizing people. And everybody is going to him instead of coming to us.”
John replied, “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven. You yourselves know how plainly I told you, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.’ It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the best man is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success.
He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.
The last verse of this passage is often quoted to remind us that it is Christ who must be made famous in our lives and not ourselves. But honestly I don't remember reading the previous verses.
When John's faithful disciples came to him to report to him about this one whom John had identified as the Messiah, they came with genuine concern for their master. John was the one who had brought the idea of repentance to Israel after many years of Israel living without communication with their God. John was preparing the hearts of the people for the one in whom they would find salvation and freedom from sin.
John's disciples were worried that Jesus was taking over John's ministry and they wanted to know what their leader thought about this possibility. John understood their concern, but he also understood what his job had been and the reason that so many now followed after Jesus. John gave his followers the picture of a Bridegroom and the best man. John knew he was unworthy of being the one who would save the world, and he trusted God's plan for his life. He even went as far as to say that as Jesus became greater, John must become less important. He had done his job and a new era had begun.
I wonder what it would have been like to be John. He was the messenger, the best man, the one who prepared the way, the one who prepared the people for the Groom, our Messiah. He didn't waver with the fact that he was not the Savior. He did not doubt that God's plan was best. His whole life purpose was to make his Lord famous and not himself.
How is my life reflecting John's life? Is my thought process following the thought process of John? Is it clear that I believe Christ is the Messiah and the one that others must see through me? This life was not given to me to waste for my own benefit. I was given life to love my Creator! I was given life to serve Him by serving everyone around me. I was given life to decrease, so that Christ and His love may increase!
