I Must Decrease

Photo by Yannick Pulver on Unsplash

​He must increase, but I must decrease.
​John 3:30 ESV

Think about this for a moment: according to Jesus, John the Baptist was the greatest person to ever live, prior to Jesus himself (Matthew 11:11). One of the things that made John the Baptist so great is that he was extremely humble.  John had an incredible following.  People came from all over to hear him preach repentance and to be baptized by him. But when Jesus arrived John told people to follow Jesus! He told people that Jesus was the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). John had his own disciples who he encouraged to leave him and to follow Jesus (John 1:35-37). John the Baptist knew who Jesus was and that Jesus was the one who would bring salvation! This is why John said “He (Jesus) must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30 ESV). Humbly John knew his influence and following must decrease because someone greater had come. 
 
Christians are called to “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3 ESV). The Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, would go on from there explaining that we are to humbly put others before ourselves and in so doing be like Christ who humbled himself by becoming man and dying for our sins. This is what we are called to do but that is not what our culture conditions us to do.  Our hedonistic society cannot imagine considering others more important than oneself. Even when the sinful world volunteers time or gives money to a “good cause” it is simply for their own therapeutic gratification. As much as our society values the therapeutic, it sadly doesn’t understand that what truly is therapeutic for our souls, is humbly giving your life to Christ and living for his glory above all! 
 
I remember years ago when I was in college going on a mission trip called Beach Reach. The point of the mission was to give free rides to college students who were at South Padre to party over Spring Break.  We went from place to place picking up these students in church vans. On the van ride we would engage in conversation and try to talk to them about Jesus. I remember one group of students that asked us if we were being paid. We told them that we weren’t being paid and that we actually paid money to come down and give them rides. They could not believe it! “Why would you do that?” they asked. “Because Jesus died for our sins, and He died for your sins, and we want you to know that!” It didn’t make sense to them at all that someone would give up their time and especially their money to come serve other people. 
 
Humility is a mark of a true believer (Colossians 3:12). We must constantly look for ways to be humble. We must push back against the world and our own sin nature that has been conditioned to put ourselves above everything else. To be humble is to live counter to the culture. When we live this way the world around us will take notice. And when the world takes notice, we must humbly point them to the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!
 
We are not awesome! We are not worthy of praise. We are sinners, unworthy, but loved by an awesome God! One of my favorite songs is My Worth is Not in What I Own by Keith and Kristyn Getty. The last verse of the song says, “Two wonders here that I confess, my worth and my unworthiness.” It is truly a wonder to try and comprehend just how awesome it is that Jesus would make worthy what is absolutely unworthy! Truly He must increase, but I must decrease!