He Must Increase, But I Must Decrease
by Joey Carroll Corinth Missionary Baptist Church
When you begin to think about characters in the storyline of the Bible, hopefully many names come to mind. You might start with Noah, who obeyed God and built the ark. And in so doing, he and his family survived the judgment of God poured out on all mankind in the great flood. You might think of Abraham who humbly left his homeland and his people to obey God. And in so doing, he became the father of many nations. Or, you might think of King David who as a young boy killed Goliath with a single stone and a heart full of faith. But there is one man, who stands above all other men in regard to importance and responsibility in the Bible, and that man is John, the baptizer.
We would have been really uncomfortable around John. He was not like us. He not only lived in the wilderness away from the crowds, but also his “look” and his ways were not normal. “Now John himself had a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey,” (Matthew 3:4, NASB). But I don’t think his outward appearance was the thing that would have made us the most uncomfortable; I think that would have been his utter devotion to God.
John was about a singular purpose. He did not get side-tracked or distracted in any way. He kept to the purposes for which God had assigned to him. He was sent to get a people ready for the Savior, and so John came baptizing a baptism of repentance. His message was simple: repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins. Sounds very familiar, doesn’t it? His mission though was two-fold. Not only was he preparing a people, he was also waiting for the Savior to arrive. John did not know who it was going to be, but the Lord had told him “He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit,” (John 1:33, NASB). So John kept to the task until that wonderful day when he witnessed the heavens open and the Spirit descend and remain on Jesus. And then John heard the voice of the Father when He said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased,” (Matthew 3:17).
Now John had one more job, his most important job. He lifted his finger and proclaimed, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29, NASB). That was the single greatest responsibility that a man ever had in the Bible. He was blessed with the task of introducing the Savior to the world.
But shortly thereafter, John said something that should continually remain in our hearts and minds as Christians, “He must increase, but I must decrease,” (John 3:30, NASB). John is not saying to be degrading and critical of yourself. He is saying to think of yourself less and more of Christ. John knew that God would carefully watch over his life and provide for his life as his faithful Shepherd. So that enabled John to let go of his life and live fully and singularly for the glory of God.
As Christians, we have two voices in our heads. The world whispers in our ears that contentment and joy is found if we can make the world around us become more about us. But the Spirit is also speaking to us through John’s words in the Bible. He says that real contentment and joy is found when you stop being so concerned with yourself and give your love and devotion to the One who died for you.
