Very little messaging in our world encourages me to take a lesser position. Same was true back in the day when John the Baptist, a wild-haired preacher with a hankering for locusts, baptized and pointed people to the coming Messiah.

As that Messiah moved into public view, the crowds starting leaving John and heading to Jesus. When asked about his shrinking congregation, John expressed joy, not regret, and speaking of Jesus said—He must become greater; I must become less.

John expressed the mindset of a disciple, a sincere follower of Jesus. Totally counter-cultural then and now.

Why did John hold this view? He shared the primary reason with his questioners:

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.

With clarity, John laid out the reality every one of us faces. To embrace the Son brings me to eternal life, but to reject Jesus leaves me under wrath. The language reveals the choice each person makes at some point or another. Believe in the Son or reject the Son, we all choose.

For his part, John wanted everyone he touched to experience no confusion because of him. The stakes were too high. See less of me in order to see more of Jesus.

Which is both a wise and freeing attitude for me to embrace as I represent Jesus in my world today.

John 3 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Les Argonautes