Reading: John 3:22-36
Have you ever had the experience of investing huge amounts
of effort into a role or project, only to find that someone else has come along
and ‘taken all the glory’, is better, more successful or popular than you?
Feeling a lack of appreciation, to be outshone by another’s
abilities or inadequate to complete a task are common human experiences and
John the Baptist had reason to feel all these things and more. He had devoted his life to deliver a message
of repentance, he had put aside a settled, comfortable existence, to live out
his calling, and people had responded to his message. But now, they were turning away from him to
another voice. All that effort, passion and sacrifice and no-one to listen.
Yet John’s response is extraordinary. Instead of jumping to
the defensive, or attempting to extinguish the competition, or giving in to
discouragement, he submits in humility and generosity of spirit. He is content to slip off into the sidelines,
to allow Jesus to take centre stage. John knows that all he has achieved has
been due to God, not his own abilities. He has a healthy sense of his self
before God, a deep understanding of the person of Jesus and the unfailing
resource of the Holy Spirit. This realisation releases John into joy, allows
him to take pleasure in his God-given role and enables him to powerfully
prophesy. God uses John strategically to prepare the way for Jesus. John is the
warm-up act and someone who is ready and willing to play his part.
For me, this is a reminder that all that I have at work,
home and church is given from God. I have no excuse to hang back through
feelings of inadequacy or lack of recognition. I serve in order to give Jesus
centre stage. The same is true for each
of us, as we serve and play our part in God’s amazing plan.
Response
Father, in all that I
think, feel and do this week, may there be more of you and less of me. Amen.
Louise
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