Scripture reading:
22After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. 23Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were constantly coming to be baptized. 24(This was before John was put in prison.) 25An argument developed between some of John's disciples and a certain Jew[a] over the matter of ceremonial washing. 26They came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him."
27To this John replied, "A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. 28You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Christ[b] but am sent ahead of him.' 29The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30He must become greater; I must become less.
Observations:
Back in 2000, I was best man at a friend’s wedding.
I was truly honored to have been given this role, and it was an absolute pleasure to play a small part in their special day.
But as much as I was given an honorary role, the day was not about me, nor was I in any way the main focus. My role and the source of my joy, was to share in the occasion – not to steal glory for myself.
That was where my joy was, and I had to be (and was) content with my role.
I believe that every Christian has been allocated a role to play in the advancement of god’s great kingdom, and John’s example here demonstrates two important points about the attitudes with which each of us should adopt in our approach toward the fulfillment of our roles.
(1) Jesus is the central focus of the Christian faith.
It was Jesus who died for our sins, not us.
Jesus is the cornerstone of the Christian faith, not us.
He is the reason for our salvation. He must get the glory, not us.
Our role in the advancement of the kingdom of heaven is not to seek glory for ourselves. Nothing which we do in terms of building up the kingdom of heaven should be done for the purpose of seeking to glorify ourselves.
Instead, our goal should be to honor and glorify Jesus, our savior. We must seek to lead people to Jesus, not simply impress them with our theological knowledge or some other aspect of our religious life.
Our goal should be to see others worshiping and glorifying Jesus, not us.
(2) We must fulfill our roles with contentment and joy.
Whatever specific roles and tasks we are given in the advancement of the kingdom, we should fulfill those roles in a joyful manner.
In the case of John the Baptist, his main role was to prepare the way for the coming of Christ. When Jesus came, John’s mission had been accomplished and his joy was complete.
We, too, should serve the lord with a joyous and thankful attitude, and we should truly rejoice when we see the results of our service to the kingdom. When someone comes to Jesus the first time, our hearts should be filled with joy. When we see others praising the lord, we should overflow with happiness. When we hear stories of god turning people’s lives around, we should be filled with gladness and satisfaction.
Prayer:
Lord, let us never forget, that Christ and Christ only is cornerstone of our faith.
Forgive us, lord, for when we try to seek glory for ourselves. Forgive us for when our hearts are not truly set upon you or the advancement of your kingdom.
Set our hearts only on you, lord.
Lord, mould our hearts to have an attitude of joyful servitude. Let us never think of service to your kingdom as a chore – although sometimes it will not be easy. Let us always see service to your kingdom as our mission, and let us rejoice when we see the results of your kingdom being built up in heaven.
In your great name, Amen.
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