LESS OF SELF – Part 4
Lessons from John 3:30

““He must become greater; I must become less.”

As you know, I like to run. As I run, I like to listen to music and talk to and worship the Father. While I don’t always use those exact words, I am continually asking that His will be done and that “He must become greater; I must become less.” I ask God that He increase and I decrease.

You see, the Christian life is not about me, it’s about Christ. It’s not about my talents he has given me or the success of Northstar. It’s not about my advancement. It is about the place He wants me to be. It is about the purpose He has for me. It’s not about my marriage, it’s about the Godly family He wants me to lead. It’s not about how much money I make, it’s about being grateful for whatever He has given me and using it for His purposes and glory.

It’s not about my trials and hurts and struggles, people cutting me off on the highway, or inconsiderate salespeople, or not being able to find the remote control, or even a Florida State loss. It’s about being like Him. It’s not about my dreams of 25 satellite churches, 2,500 small groups and 25,000 people attending Sunday services, it’s about His plans. It’s not about my aspirations and goals, it’s about His will.

Many people believe the Christian life is about God and about me. Actually, it is all about Him. It’s not about me living independently and incorporating Him in my life. It’s about living completely dependent on Him and clinging to Him.

The Christian life is not about Him loving me and me also loving me. Our focus has to be on Christ, and by that I mean on Christ’s spiritual and eternal purposes and not on our earthly and temporary needs and desires.

This requires us to pause and take stock of our willingness to put ourselves in the background. We walk in faith, which to some of us, is our hope that God will give us what we need if we trust Him. And, we believe we are owed these things because we go to church, and tithe. We equate God blessing us with a good paying job, a nice house, and a relatively new car. But that is not becoming less. That is seeing God as the means for us to be greater. We turn Him into a financial planner and thereby lessening Him.

This passage teaches us that Jesus is the one who came from Heaven. Jesus is God, and He gives eternal life to man. To the degree that Jesus becomes greater in our hearts and in our lives, we are truly happy and contented.

John exhibited the type of humility that says I am here only to be used by the living God. Matthew 23”11-12 says, “ The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

My prayer for each of us who call Northstar home is that, in everything, may we only be an arrow pointing to Christ – In every word, every action, every song, small group meeting, and communication.

He must become greater; I must become less.