We Should Become Less?
“Pastor, we have lost two more members to
that church down the road”, exclaimed a member of the deacon board! With a very concerned look on his face he
continued; “pretty soon we will have nobody around here. What are we going to do?”
This dialogue may not be an infrequent
occurrence in many churches. Interestingly, there is parallel incident that the
Bible chronicles in the ministry of John the Baptist.
“And they came to John and said to him, Rabbi,
He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, He
is baptizing and all are coming to Him” (John 3:26 NASB).
Comparisons
were running through the minds of John’s devotees. Jesus was out-baptizing them. His followers had concerned looks on their
faces. There is a strong implication
here that John’s disciples may have been thinking, John, what are we going to do?
They are stealing our thunder.
His disciples were acting as if John had invented baptism and as if he
had, according to the commentator Matthew Henry “a patent on the invention.”
John stared into the faces of
his followers and knew God had given him a teachable moment. His demeanor seemed to indicate he did not
quite share their concern.
John
answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from
heaven. 28 You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not
the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’ 29 He who has
the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and
hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of
mine has been made full. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
(John 3:27-30 NASB)
So
This Joy of Mine Has Been Made Full.
Some of John’s followers must have
been shocked. Others may have been a
little angry as they had great hopes for the growth of their movement. John was not upset, but even seemed to be
pleased. He was happy to be diminished? What was it about the character of this
man that brought this seemingly strange response? Was it that he had learned what pleased the
heart of his heavenly Father; it was not all about him. He purposed to put God’s plans ahead of his
and discovered that he had to become less so Jesus could become more. He
placed more value on the one he served not the service itself. What displeased his followers, brought joy to
him (So this joy of mine has been made full, v 29).
What
tries our character and quenches our joy?
When God by his sovereign will decides to bless others and not us. Most
of us, if we are honest, can relate more
to his disciples’ reaction than to John’s response. In my spiritual dealings with others, when I came
up holding the short end of the stick, my joy plummeted like a barometer in the
midst of a tropical storm. My service for Him took on a pretty joyless
ring. Why? It was still all about me. How do we react when God blesses and grows
the church down the road while our growth seems to be stymied? Can we get excited about their increase,
especially when they hold to a different theology than ours? Does God not want to bless and multiply your
church? Of course He does; but never in
competition with or at the expense of others in the Body of Christ.
In
our labors for God we can utilize the ways of the world. We can scratch and claw, compete and work
one-upmanship. It is possible even to gain
a measure of success with these tactics, but all our victories may end up
woefully devoid of joy. My dear brothers
and sisters, you can go for more at any cost, but don’t be surprised if you find
out that more can actually be less. We can do great exploits in the name of
Christ. Construct huge edifices to carry
out His work, but without the joy of the
Lord in our hearts we have built nothing enduring. As missionary C.T. Studd once said; “Only one
life ‘twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last”.
Ken
Barnes – author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places” YWAM Publishing
Email: kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/
Email: kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/
