He Must Increase

He must increase, but I must decrease.” John the Baptist

John the Baptist knew who he was and who he was not. He was not the Christ. He was not the Savior. He was not the center. He was the voice pointing to the Voice. He was a lamp pointing to the Light. He did not cling to his place. He said, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). That is not the cry of a sad man. That is the joy of a faithful one.

That word is hard for us, because we like to matter. We like to be needed. We like to be the one people lean on, call first, and praise most. But there is a danger hidden in that kind of importance. If someone begins to depend on us more than they depend on Jesus, something has gone wrong. We may look helpful on the outside, but we may be standing in the way on the inside. We were never meant to take the place that belongs to Christ alone.

This matters deeply in ministry, friendship, parenting, and leadership. Our job is not to collect people around ourselves. Our job is to lead them to Jesus. We are not the Bridegroom. We are only friends of the Bridegroom. Real joy comes when a soul begins to hear His voice more clearly than ours. Real faithfulness is not measured by how many people admire us, but by how many people are learning to trust Christ.

The happiest servant is the one who can step aside and smile. Less kudos for us. More attention to Jesus. The goal of our lives is not that people leave saying, “What a wonderful servant.” It is that they leave saying, “What a wonderful Savior.”

Have a Great Week!

-Pastor Corey