Prayer
Briefly prepare your heart in silence, and ask the Holy Spirit to awaken your sense of anticipation that God is about to speak to you through His Word. Then, before you read, I invite you to pray this prayer based on Psalm 86:11
Lord, teach me your ways,
that I may learn to rely on Your faithfulness.
Give me an undivided heart,
that I may live passionately and wholeheartedly for Your glory.
Amen.
Reading
Today’s command comes to us from the lips of John the Baptist. He understood very clearly that this was not an option, it was a command. It was a command to him, and I sincerely believe it is a command to each and every disciple of Jesus:
30 He must become greater; I must become less.
In the very earliest days of Jesus’ ministry, probably while He was still calling His earliest disciples, His ministry overlapped with that of His forerunner, John the Baptist. They were within close enough proximity of each other that John’s disciples could take note of just how many people were now being drawn to Jesus. It must have seemed to them that their rabbi John’s popularity was waning, and they experienced some real envy.
John, however, displayed wonderful humility. His heart was in absolutely the right place. He made it clear to his disciples that his ministry had never been about himself and it never would be. It had always been a ministry aimed at setting people up to receive Jesus. So if Jesus was being well-received by many, he could only celebrate, recognise that his ministry was probably now about to wind down, and gently fade into relative obscurity.
The world needs a lot more Christian disciples who, like John, are willing to dedicate ourselves to the task of introducing others to Christ without seeking to gain any benefit for ourselves. It needs disciples who, like John, will accept any ministry responsibility, no matter how lowly and menial it may appear (even if it means surviving on proverbial locusts and wild honey) because we are passionate about Jesus and wholeheartedly willing to give ourselves away in pursuit of glorifying and exalting Jesus Christ.
The world needs more disciples who will live by the motto: “He must become greater; I must become less.“
Contemplation
Please take time to ponder what Jesus has commanded us. Turn these declarations over and over in your mind. Keep them in mind throughout the day and live in step with Your King, Jesus.
As a disciple of Jesus Christ:
- I will become less so that Jesus can be made greater through me.
- I will give myself away completely, in pursuit of glorifying and exalting Jesus.
Holy Spirit, keep me faithful to my desire to serve Jesus with an undivided, humble, passionately committed heart. Amen.
Dave's Diary 