Less of Me, More of Him – Two2Grow, May 31
"He must increase, but I must decrease." John 3:30 NKJV
“Sir, how tall do you think you are?” The officer looked up from examining my driver’s license renewal application. She had spotted a mistake. I had misplaced a number, so instead of indicating that I was 6 feet tall, I claimed to be 6 inches tall! We had a good laugh.
As I left the office, I thought of John the Baptist. He had an incredible ministry with amazing national impact. Some think that he could have reached crowds numbering in the hundreds of thousands, making up several percent of the population of Israel.
But then Jesus showed up, and everyone started going to Him. John the Baptist went from being a celebrity in the spotlight to being outdated and uninteresting. It’s like technology: I laugh when I compare my new smartphone with my twenty-year-old dumbphone, remembering how, at one time, it was cool!
But how did John handle his sudden loss of glory? It is one thing to have never had fame and influence, but to have had it and then lose it hurts much more. His response sets the standard for all of us, which can be paraphrased as “Less of me, more of Him”.
Decreasing for God’s glory is beautiful. We should never fear becoming smaller for God, because our decreasing creates space for Jesus to show His greatness—which is the greatest longing of our hearts!
Make a commitment today to resist fear and follow the principle of John the Baptist!
Jesus, I want You to increase in my life. Holy Spirit, show me where I can decrease so that Jesus will be even more glorified through my life.
Pastor Mikael Stenhammar, PhD
“Sir, how tall do you think you are?” The officer looked up from examining my driver’s license renewal application. She had spotted a mistake. I had misplaced a number, so instead of indicating that I was 6 feet tall, I claimed to be 6 inches tall! We had a good laugh.
As I left the office, I thought of John the Baptist. He had an incredible ministry with amazing national impact. Some think that he could have reached crowds numbering in the hundreds of thousands, making up several percent of the population of Israel.
But then Jesus showed up, and everyone started going to Him. John the Baptist went from being a celebrity in the spotlight to being outdated and uninteresting. It’s like technology: I laugh when I compare my new smartphone with my twenty-year-old dumbphone, remembering how, at one time, it was cool!
But how did John handle his sudden loss of glory? It is one thing to have never had fame and influence, but to have had it and then lose it hurts much more. His response sets the standard for all of us, which can be paraphrased as “Less of me, more of Him”.
Decreasing for God’s glory is beautiful. We should never fear becoming smaller for God, because our decreasing creates space for Jesus to show His greatness—which is the greatest longing of our hearts!
Make a commitment today to resist fear and follow the principle of John the Baptist!
Jesus, I want You to increase in my life. Holy Spirit, show me where I can decrease so that Jesus will be even more glorified through my life.
Pastor Mikael Stenhammar, PhD