John’s disciples came to him and said, “Rabbi, the man you met on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you identified as the Messiah, is also baptizing people. And everybody is going to him instead of coming to us.”
John replied, “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven. You yourselves know how plainly I told you, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.’ It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the best man is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success. He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less. (John 3:26-30 New Living Translation)
No profession is free from the temptation of ego inflation, and that certainly includes the preaching profession.
John was “successful.” He had a loyal following and a solid ministry. But it did not define who he was. He was John. What he did was to preach and baptize. The aim of his preaching ministry was to get people thinking seriously about spiritual growth and what they would have to give up in order for that growth to occur. When the One who would make that growth possible came, John’s mission and ministry would fade. John the Baptist would be just John again.
And John was OK with just being John. Because, like his entire congregation, he was also anxious to receive what Jesus would bring. He had taken his own preaching to heart and was ready to give up being a rabbi to become a disciple himself.
Ego strength is important. We need enough of it to make good choices. If we have too much, we become self-obsessed and rigid. If we have too little, we become paralyzed and indecisive. Ego strength requires a sense of self worth. The Christian believes that all people are made in God’s Image and therefore have worth, regardless of their profession or social standing. God has valued us enough to invest something of Himself in all of us. Through faith in Christ, we claim the name of God as our new family name and that becomes our surest source of self worth.
John faithfully put down the name he made for himself because his family name, the name God had made for him was of greater value. John might have decided he could do better for himself and gone into competition with God. Many people do. Tragically, many preachers do also. But, though he was glad to play the part he had been given, he was willing to put everything he had built for himself down so that Jesus would increase.
Advent is a good time to do a reality check. Does our sense of worth or security come from our sense of fellowship with God and with God’s people? John’s remark needs to be our own, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
Each month a member of the Cook County Ministerium will offer Spiritual Reflections. This month’s contributor is Pastor Dave Harvey, who has served as pastor of Grand Marais Evangelical Free Church since February of 2008.
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