“You yourselves can testify that I said,
‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.” (John 3:28-30, NIV)
Greater — Prominent — Eminent — Leading
Top — Distinguished — Acclaimed — More
Celebrated — Honored — Higher — Major
Esteemed — Matchless — Illustrious — Star
Notable — Principal — First-rate — Famous
Superior — Peerless — Admired — Revered
All of us, if we’re honest, would love to be described by any of the words listed above. Our ego, our pride, our flesh hungers for this kind of notoriety from our spouse, our kids, our friends, our co-workers, and basically anyone we know. At Crossings camps in 2014, we’ll take a detailed look at what GREATER really means in the life of a Christ-follower. But now let’s take a glimpse at the point of departure for GREATER, John 3:28-30.
In this passage of Scripture, we find John the Baptist clarifying to his followers that he is NOT the Christ (the Anointed One, the Messiah). Instead, John is simply the announcer or the messenger of Christ’s coming. John even uses the illustration of a wedding party and calls himself a groomsman. The groomsman’s mere presence at the wedding shows support for the Bridegroom, and the groomsman is excited to hear the Bridegroom’s voice proclaim His love for His bride.
Then John declares, “He must become greater; I must become less.” We believers are living, breathing, walking, and serving testimonies of who Christ is. We must choose to die, moment by moment and day by day, to what our flesh hungers for. And we MUST truly live our lives in a manner worthy of Him, to proclaim Him, to honor Him in all we do, say, and even think.
We know that He, through His Holy Spirit, lives in each of us. We know we have ALL we need to live for Christ. We know ALL of His fruit dwells in us and that we are to bear His fruit in and through our lives. The question we need to answer each day is this: When someone comes across my path, do they walk away knowing Christ or simply knowing me?
For Him to become “greater” and us to become “less” means we choose to die to our flesh and live by His Spirit through our actions, attitude, words and even our thoughts. Let’s make sure we’re praying with and for each other so our Lord Jesus Christ is GREATER in and through all of us.
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