He must increase but I must decrease. Of course this is John the Baptist speaking to his disciples who are jealous that people are turning from,him and following Jesus, they don't understand who Jesus is and are upset by what He is doing. But John knows that here is the Christ, the Lamb of God who will take away the sins of the world and so he is completely at peace, more, he is rejoicing in the fact that his Messiah has come.
But in this small sentence we have the whole of the Christian life, we have what it is like to die to self - the result of receiving Christ. Here we have the definition of a true believer, one who is growing in the Lord, one who is seeking first His Kingdom and His righteousness, one who knows that they have been crucified with Christ and no longer live, but that the life they live they live by faith in the Son of God who loved them and gave Himself for them (Gal. 2:20). Here is the life of a believer, He must increase and I must decrease.
So ask yourself the question - is this happening in your life? Is Christ increasing? Test yourself - how do you think about your salvation? Do you think of it in terms of what Christ has done for you? Is it all about the peace He gives you, the joy, the protection, the promise of a glorious inheritance? Are you concerned about gaining a full assurance of that, concerned about Him dealing with all your issues, sorting out your problems, leading you into a better place?
Or do you think about salvation as the manifestation of His glory, as the way that His glory will cover the earth. Do you proclaim salvation by filling your mind and your heart with the truth of who Christ is, that He is wisdom and righteousness, that He is the King of Glory and that all you desire is to lift up His name and honour the One who gives Life. Is salvation about you or about Him?
Or in your prayers - are you concerned with the things that bother you - people or circumstances or trials? Do you pray for those you love, for what they need and for the Lord to heal or to bless or to save? Are your prayers concerned with self, with you - or are they all about the revelation of His glory through you, all about Him leading, Him taking centre stage, Him being made known through your life? Are they more about Him than about you?
It is not wrong to pray for these things of course not, Jesus Himself tells us to do so but think about how much time you are praying about you or the things that concern you, rather than about Him and about what concerns Him. Think about how long you spend asking compared with how long you spend in praise and adoration of God.
Are you defensive about yourself, easily hurt or offended? Do you think that might be because you are not decreasing? Are you self reliant and confident that you are working hard for the Lord - do you work out your plans and then ask people to pray that God will give you a hand to fulfil them?
Is life all about you or about Him?
He must increase but I must decrease - is that happening in your life?
But in this small sentence we have the whole of the Christian life, we have what it is like to die to self - the result of receiving Christ. Here we have the definition of a true believer, one who is growing in the Lord, one who is seeking first His Kingdom and His righteousness, one who knows that they have been crucified with Christ and no longer live, but that the life they live they live by faith in the Son of God who loved them and gave Himself for them (Gal. 2:20). Here is the life of a believer, He must increase and I must decrease.
So ask yourself the question - is this happening in your life? Is Christ increasing? Test yourself - how do you think about your salvation? Do you think of it in terms of what Christ has done for you? Is it all about the peace He gives you, the joy, the protection, the promise of a glorious inheritance? Are you concerned about gaining a full assurance of that, concerned about Him dealing with all your issues, sorting out your problems, leading you into a better place?
Or do you think about salvation as the manifestation of His glory, as the way that His glory will cover the earth. Do you proclaim salvation by filling your mind and your heart with the truth of who Christ is, that He is wisdom and righteousness, that He is the King of Glory and that all you desire is to lift up His name and honour the One who gives Life. Is salvation about you or about Him?
Or in your prayers - are you concerned with the things that bother you - people or circumstances or trials? Do you pray for those you love, for what they need and for the Lord to heal or to bless or to save? Are your prayers concerned with self, with you - or are they all about the revelation of His glory through you, all about Him leading, Him taking centre stage, Him being made known through your life? Are they more about Him than about you?
It is not wrong to pray for these things of course not, Jesus Himself tells us to do so but think about how much time you are praying about you or the things that concern you, rather than about Him and about what concerns Him. Think about how long you spend asking compared with how long you spend in praise and adoration of God.
Are you defensive about yourself, easily hurt or offended? Do you think that might be because you are not decreasing? Are you self reliant and confident that you are working hard for the Lord - do you work out your plans and then ask people to pray that God will give you a hand to fulfil them?
Is life all about you or about Him?
He must increase but I must decrease - is that happening in your life?
