I must become less

“He must become greater; I must become less.” John 3:30
In John 3:22-30 we see how some of John’s disciples were getting upset because Jesus was becoming more popular than John, whom they were following. Some of John’s own disciples had gone across and were now following Jesus (see John 1:35-37). But John wasn’t bothered that Jesus was more popular. He knew his place, as the ‘voice crying in the wilderness’, preparing the way for the Messiah. Now that Messiah had come, John knew that it was more important that people follow Jesus, not him.
We should have this same attitude. None of us have made it yet; there are still aspects of our fleshly sin nature that rear their ugly heads from time to time – feelings of jealousy, of not receiving the credit you think you deserve, of being ignored, neglected, or overlooked. It’s been said that it’s amazing what you can accomplish if you don’t care who gets the credit. Jesus conducted Himself in such a way that every miracle He performed, people gave the glory to God – not to Him directly (Matt. 9:8, 15:31, Mark 2:12, Luke 7:16, 18:43, etc.). We should do the same (1 Cor. 10:31). Paul also developed this attitude: “It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defence of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice” (Phil. 1:15-18).
We all have some area in which God is still working to make us more like Jesus. The road to Christian maturity is all about setting our own will aside and seeking to do God’s will instead. Make a decision today: to have more of Him showing in your life, and less of yourself.