He Must Increase

He must increase, but I must decrease.

John 3:30

Behold the words of John the Baptist, who Jesus said was the greatest man to ever be born of a woman (Luke 7:28). They are a far cry from what I would naturally expect to hear from the manliest man of all time. I scramble eggs; John ate locusts. I wear Asics; John strapped some animal hide to his feet. I have shelter, running water, and electricity; John lived in the wilderness.

But perhaps the greatest contrast that is becoming more apparent to me between me and the Baptist is the reality that I often desire to exalt myself while John’s deepest desire was to exalt Jesus Christ.

This realization has come in a most-surprising way. While I don’t walk around thinking of ways to get the glory, my reactions to people tell me that my heart is not about exalting Christ nearly as much as it should be. Let me try and explain.

I have seen this prideful tendency in relationships, especially the relationships that matter most to me. My desire is for those I love to know and love Christ more and more. However, I am ashamed to admit that I often become filled with bitterness when their response is not instant gratitude towards me and thankfulness towards God. I want my words to matter. I want my actions to impact other people. I want to be a good vessel for the kingdom of God.

While these are noble notions, I believe I have tended to miss the point. When my attitude and response to people is affected by their attitudes and responses to me, I have failed to exalt Christ. In fact, my reaction shows the reality of my prideful heart. It shows that I really think highly of myself and can’t imagine why anyone could hear my words of infinite (HA!) wisdom and not respond instantly in the exact manner that I’ve come to associate with God’s work in a person’s life.

So I have to admit something before I go on. If you are my friend, I have responded this way towards you, and I am sorry. And sadly, the better the friend you have been to me, the worse I have been in this area. You see, with each relationship that I highly value and desire to see God glorified through, I increasingly lack patience and trust in first and foremost God and also in you. My actions indicate that I don’t really trust God to do a work in your life and my comments often show that I am not willing to wait even five minutes for that work to take place. I take the reigns myself as if I was the changer of hearts and the King of kings. I think of myself and my words more highly than I ought to. And this harms my most precious relationships.

I undoubtedly will probably do the same again and again, but at least now I am aware of it. I ask for your grace and encouragement as I seek to honor God and exalt Christ like John did so well with his life.

But, as I am continually reminded by God Himself and the wonderful saints around me, this awareness is not the end. My realization of sin in my heart doesn’t lead to a bottomless pit of despair. It leads me into the glorious reality of the Gospel. It brings me face to face with a Savior unwilling to let my life continue on without hope. It brings me to the foot of the Cross, where Jesus shed His blood and bore the wrath of God that I deserved.

And as I reflect upon the great grace displayed at Calvary, I realize who it is all about. And not only do I realize that it is all about Christ, but I am able to boldly proclaim the words along with John the Baptist:

He must increase, but I must decrease.

When I remember these words, I remember whose work it is that has changed and is changing my heart and changes the hearts of those most dear to me. While I have not even a hint of righteousness of my own, Christ’s righteousness has been given to me, and I will take that glorious truth over my own glory any day.

May Christ increase much today as I seek to follow Him in all humility.