A Word in Season: He Must Increase (John 3:30)

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Why do you do the things that you do? What drives you? What generates the things that you generate?

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What are the aspirations which, even if you don't necessarily want to admit it, lie behind the way that you try and present yourself and the things that you put out there for others to appreciate?

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One of the curses of social media is the subtle or not -so -subtle desire to present ourselves in a certain way to gain the applause of other people, that they might be impressed with who and what we are, almost weaponising it in order to get ahead of the game.

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Even in environments where you'd hope it wouldn't be the case or imagine it shouldn't be the case, so often there can be that subtle one -upmanship in which we're trying to make sure that we stay ahead of the pack and that other people applaud us and appreciate us and approve us.

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Some of that spirit lay behind the concern of the disciples of John the

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Baptist in John's Gospel and Chapter 3. Not long before, John the Baptist had baptised

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Jesus of Nazareth, and now the disciples are concerned that he who you baptised, who was with you beyond the

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Jordan, he is baptising and all are coming to him. In effect, John, you have a problem, because this man who's behind you in the pecking order seems to be now getting ahead of the game.

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John's answer is a model of true humility. First of all, he's profoundly aware that a man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.

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Even if, for a moment, you take the Lord Jesus himself out of the picture, John is very conscious that he himself is an instrument in his master's hands, that even in comparison with other mere men, he himself has been granted certain things, others are granted other things, and all such things are a heavenly gift to us, undeserved, freely bestowed, and for the use of others.

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But John then goes beyond that and insists upon the fact that this

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Jesus is, in fact, God's Christ. He who has the bride is the bridegroom.

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He who is the one to whom all these things are pointing.

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It's about him. It's never about me. I'm not in competition with him. I'm serving him.

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I exist to bring his bride to him, not to compete for his bride.

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And therefore, says John, this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.

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Is that not a beautiful insight into the heart of a true believer and, perhaps particularly, a true minister of the gospel?

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It's not resignation. Well, I suppose I better get out of the way and let somebody else take the limelight.

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No, it's true joy. It's fulfilled joy. John exists for the sake, for the glory of his

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Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He must increase. John must decrease.

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It is all about the Lord Christ himself, and he is going to eclipse

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John in ways that perhaps John himself didn't grasp, let alone his disciples.

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John, though, is very conscious of the fact that his time is passing. He must decrease.

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And that's something that every true servant of Messiah needs to understand. Our work, our platform, to use that language, ugly though it may seem, is not for our sakes.

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It's not for the parade or display of our gifts and attainments, who we are and what we can do.

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The point of a Christian's labor is never to draw attention to themselves.

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No, our reputations, our names, our attainments, all of those things, they must pass away.

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The great goal that we have is to put the spotlight upon the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Yes, he must increase. His name, his honor, his glory, his reputation.

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We do not serve for ourselves and for our own sake, but for his.

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He must increase. I must decrease. Can we say that from our hearts?

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Can we perhaps look at those who too often we consider rivals, and rather than a game of one -upmanship, we're simply concerned that, for our part at least, we might so exalt

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Christ that we, sinking into the background, provide, if you will, a platform not for ourselves, but for the honor of our