Daily Devotional – 8/2/17 “He must increase”

A follower of my blog asked if I have ever done a devotional on John 3:30 that says, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” I knew right off that I had not so I began to read. I had no plans to write it as the devotional today but God did. Is God not amazing? See, in John 3, John the Baptist has been baptizing in one area while Jesus was baptizing in another. A few of John’s disciples and an unnamed Jew began arguing over the issue of baptizing. The bible doesn’t say what the argument was about but we can surmise it was over the number of people because John 3:26 says, “Look, Rabbi, the One who was with you beyond the Jordan, whom you testified about—He is baptizing, and everyone is going to Him.” Yet John wasn’t moved because he responds by testifying about Jesus. He lets the disciples know that all he has done has been by the grace extended to him from heaven. He so powerfully says in John 3:29-30, “The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.”

John says, in other words, I was simply the best man/maid of honor whose responsibility was to handle the details of the wedding and deliver the bride to the groom. Now that the bride has shown up, my place is at their side. And this is how we are supposed to be as men and women of God. The presence of God in our lives ought to overshadow everything else. See, John the Baptist had the responsibility of the congregants of the ‘wedding’ until the bride showed up, he did that, so he had no reason to be upset when they took their eyes off him and placed them on Jesus. This is why John says “my joy has been fulfilled.” He’d done his part so he couldn’t be mad when it was time to turn over the reins. People of God, we have to understand what part we are to handle on this journey. We cannot afford for the lines to be blurred by tasks and titles. We don’t have time for our desires to outshine that of God. We must decrease as He increase. If we don’t it becomes about us and not God. We have to decrease in order for God to increase, there is no other way. Do your part, handle your responsibilities but know where your place is because if I shall be honest, you cannot do anything worthy of God without God. You can try but I can guarantee it will not be the same.