Speaking about Jesus, John the Baptist said: “He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30). 

This is a succinct statement of what it means to be more like Christ and to grow in holiness. The voice, influence, and power of Jesus must become greater and greater in our lives. This is helped as we check our pride and ego, yielding to what Jesus wants and not just to what we want.

This cannot be done without (a) God’s help, and (b) humility.

This stands in radical opposition to the messages of our world today. Francis and Lisa Chan describe the situation well: “You’re not going to find any magazines on the newsstands with articles encouraging you to show humility. Instead, we are saturated with messages about power, independence, and control. We are bombarded with advice telling us to listen to our own hearts, to do whatever we feel like doing. The constant affirmation of the world and the pull of our own hearts make it so easy to believe that we deserve to be treated in a certain way. We should not have to listen to anyone telling us what to do; after all, we are strong and independent.”*

You see, our world would have you believe that ‘You must become greater; Jesus must become less.’ Wrong. It’s the other way around.

Where do you need to yield? What area of your life is God waiting to transform for the better?

More Jesus in you is better for you 
because Jesus is best.
He must become greater; 
I must become less.

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Notes:

—Sermon. March 13, 2022: “The endangered recipe for greatness.” Click here.

—Upcoming. Do you subscribe to ‘The Pulse Podcast with Matthew Ruttan’? Coming this week is an interview with Jon Thompson about spiritual warfare. You’re in a battle whether you realize it or not. You will not want to miss it.

–*Francis Chan and Lisa Chan, You and Me Forever: Marriage in Light of Eternity (San Francisco: Claire Love Publishing, 2014), 82.

–Bible quotes are from the NIV.