He Is Greater Than I

He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.

John 3:30

John the baptist was a very special man.  He was chosen by God to prepare the way for the Messiah.  John was very devoted to God's call on his life.  He spent much of his time teaching people, and baptizing them.  On this particular day many people were lined up to be baptized when he was approached by his disciples who warned him that the man he called the Messiah was baptizing people on the other side of the Jordan River.  The disciples sounded concerned and they even made mention that Jesus was getting all the "clients".  In this day in age we call that competition.  Similar to the Girl Scouts selling cookies at opposite entrances to Walmart, or  the Walgreens that sits right across the street to CVS, John's disciples saw competition brewing.  By the sound of them they were ready to fight.  John, on the other hand, did the opposite, he was excited for Jesus.  He understood God's call on his life and on Jesus' and he knew that his time was coming to an end.  John showed amazing humility when he spoke the words you see above.  He was ready and understood the importance of his disappearance and Jesus' growth.  He was willing to set aside his success and all the fame he acquired while he was preparing the way for Jesus Christ.

In a way we are all like John the baptist.  We have all been put on earth to share the Good News that Jesus Christ is our savior.  It is all of our jobs to prepare the way for people to develop relationships with Christ and to direct them to find salvation in Jesus Christ.  It is the responsibility of us all to put God before ourselves, and when given opportunities, allow Him to become greater while we shrink into the background.  Like John we should be willing to allow our "success" to dwindle, or our fame to be put on hold, in order to shine the spotlight on Jesus Christ, the real hero.  None of life is about us, but all about God and so we put away our pride and our selfish ambitions to allow Him to become greater while we become less.

Dear God, today I ask You to help me put myself behind You.  I want to become less while You become more and I want to lead people to You with every word I speak and every action I take.  Give me the strength to humble myself and prove to the people in my life that my strength comes not from me but from You.  In Jesus' name Amen