John 3:22-36 | What's the lesson for me today?

"He must increase, but I must decrease."
-John 3:30

As I ponder this lesson, I think of three different categories of life I want to approach this from. I have found at many times, in many ways, that one of these three areas will be lacking in terms of Him increasing and me decreasing. I'll call these three categories public, personal, and private.

Public. The public side of this makes me consider hoe I am presenting myself socially. I think of little things that can have an impact on people. When I walk by someone do I avoid eye contact and look away, or do I look at them an offer a friendly smile and hello? At a restaurant, do I say please and thank you? Am I friendly or demanding and impatient? At grocery stores do I demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit? When I am at the gym , am I considerate of other people? When I drive, do I drive aggressively or do I drive with love, caring not for my own pace, but for the lives of those around me? All of these things are ways that I can shine the light of Christ or the darkness of self. I want to shine and show how the Lord has changed me. My public image matters far less than how I represent His image.

Personal. With this, I think of friends and family. Many do a good job at presenting themselves well in a public capacity and handle themselves appropriately, but once they get around their friends and family, that drops off. Because it is people you are more comfortable with, it becomes easier to want to forward your own preferences and opinions. Since most of these people already know that you love Jesus, do you really need to make His name greater and yours less among them? Most of us probably do not even really consider it. But it is John among his disciples that he shares the above statement. He wants the name of Jesus to be greater than his own even among his own followers.

Private. This one has the potential to get really scary for some of us and it can become uncomfortable. When you are entirely by yourself, do you still live to make the name of Jesus famous? Or, when you are entirely by yourself, is that the time that you fully indulge in doing what you want to do? I have talked with a lot of people who cannot seem to find any time to spend with the Lord in their free time. Yet, I will hear them speak of movies, shows, and games that they have been pouring hours into. The Lord remained neglected. Here is the thing. When this private time is lived in such a way that you want the Lord to be famous in your own eyes, the other two areas will begin to conform. Time is investment. What you invest into invests back into you. So if you invest in self focus, rather than Christ focus, that will show.

Through all of these, I think of what was written in Haggai. "Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?” (Haggai 1:4). Having just made it back from the exile, the people return to their homeland only to focus on building themselves beautiful homes and left the temple in ruins. The irony here is that they failed to remember that the reason their home were torn down in the first place is because they did not give preference to the Lord and honor Him as God. The pattern continued when they went home and left the temple in ruins while they focused on themselves. I find this is far too familiar in our churches today. Imagine with me if the body of Christ truly lived out what is being stated by John. "He must increase, but I must decrease."

What lesson are you taking for yourself today?