Greater and Lesser

I just sent the boys off to school with a morning devotion from [Jn 3:30] "He must increase but I must decrease." Another translation words it differently. Instead of the word "increase" the word "greater" is used and instead of the word "decrease" the word "less" is used. The whole point is that Jesus must continue to become greater and greater in our lives while at the same time we become less and less important.

I told the boys that as an author it has never been about me making a name for myself when I write books. I write for Jesus and He can do with my books, articles and blogs whatever He wants. If it pleases Him to keep me in obscurity and my books out of the mainstream market I must become less. If it pleases Him to use those books broadly around the world then He gets the credit. It is all about Him.

I reminded the boys that when they play sports it is not about everyone remembering their name or their name becoming famous. They should play to make a bigger deal out of Jesus. Jesus must be exalted, promoted and made famous in our lives on whatever platform God gives us. Far too many people really live to make a bigger deal out of themselves.

Celebrities come and go. Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Michael Jordan, Lebron James, Michael Jackson, Tiger Woods, Marilynn Monroe, and countless others have taken center stage for awhile and then faded into our minds and the pages of history. These people have been household names but they have never surpassed the name of Jesus. They have come and gone. Those people made their mark and either retired or died and in some cases both. Jesus' influence on this world continues. He is alive and active in the lives of millions and millions of people TODAY and FOREVER!

Many reject and defy Him today as they have done through the ages. Jesus will get His due. "For this reason also, God highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." [Phil 2:9-11]

He not only must become greater and us lesser but He is greater and we are inferior. That is the simple fact. Our days will come to an end. We are but a vapor here for a little while and then gone. Jesus is forever. He is greater and we are less.