John the Baptist
He must increase, but I must decrease. John 3:30 KJV
John the Baptist’s disciples witnessed Jesus baptizing people and went to tell their Rabbi about the occurrence. John told them that his joy was fulfilled now that he knew Christ was present. He had prepared the way and now the Son of God had finally arrived! He then told his disciples that he must decrease, and Jesus must increase.
Throughout history it has been obvious that God has used the least likely people to accomplish His plans. His chosen people did indeed decrease, as they lived their life in service to their Lord. Why does this happen, and why does God choose such lowly creatures to fulfill His tasks? Well, God tells us in His Word. “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.” (1 Corinthians 1:27) Why else would God use a smelly man of the wilderness who ate locusts and honey to prepare the way for His Son? It is because He confounds the worldly through doing so.
If one would read through the book of Hebrews, one would understand that God truly uses the weakest and most unlikely to turn the world upside down. Moses was a murderer, Abraham was a coward, Peter was a simple fisherman, Paul wasn’t an eloquent speaker, Rahab was a harlot, etc. These examples from Scripture should give us hope because we know that God can use us lowly Christians despite all our flaws and shortcomings. Martin Luther once said, “Be a sinner and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly.” His point was not that we should choose to sin, but that we can rest easy knowing that when we sin God forgives and continues to use us. Let us decrease so that Christ would increase. Let us humbly accept our lowly state and praise our Lord for his eternal majesty, power, and dominion!
Dear Lord, help our sinful pride to decrease and help us to give you proper praise and honor. Amen!