"He must increase, but I must decrease."
What does it mean when John the Baptist said that He must increase ? To me it means that Jesus must become more prevelant in our lives. It means that everything that we do should glorify God. We should constantly be living testimonys and witnesses of Christ, and desire to become more Christ like everyday.
When I think of the characteristics of Christ, there is a neverending list of wonderful and amazing qualities that come to mind. A few of these are : compassionate, loving, caring, honest, prayerful, gracious, patient, kind, gentle, humble, forgiving .. the list goes on and on. Jesus is the perfect example of how we should all be. But on the contrary, in order for Him to increase, the second half of the verse says that then "I must decrease". How do I decrease and what does that mean ? I relate it to the lusts and characteristics of the flesh which are complete opposites of being Christ like. A few of these are : prideful, self centered, hateful, lying.. etc. I must stay diligent in my walk and pursuing God so that I may grow in Him, and allow God to soften my heart and mold me to be more Christ like.
I had an experience a couple days ago that really reignited that flame and desire to draw closer to Him. We went hiking in the mountains and when I reached the top, I was in such awe of the beauty of God's Creation. I was brought to my knees in prayer and just bowed down and worshipped God. I know that I get off track sometimes and get distracted by things but for some reason being on top of that mountain helped me see how magnificient and amazing that God really is. I started meditating on all the ways in which God has blessed me, all the times that I have seen His Hand in my life, and all the times He has saved me, and I couldnt help but to just praise Him for who He is and what He has done. I am so small, even smaller than an ant i imagine when Hes looking down from Heaven, yet He still has loved me and cared about me so deeply. Theres been a lot of hurt in my life, and I have had such low self esteem and hatred for myself, and used to not think I was anything special. The enemy still creeps in and reminds me of things that I have gone through, and memories of being hurt, and then some of those old feelings will come back. On that mountain though, God reminded me just how special I am to Him. Deuteronomy 7:6-8 says, "For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord you God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of the peoples; but because the Lord loves you." A special treasure. Isn't that beautiful ? I am a special treasure in His sight, and He loves me and cares about me.
Application:
As an application, I will memorize Deuteronomy 6:5, which says, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength." I want to truly hide this Scripture in my heart, and to live each day truly loving God and worshipping Him with all my heart, all my soul and all my strength.
Father,
Thank you for loving me like you do, for saving me,for reminding me that I am special, and for showing me how magnificient and great that You are ! Lord, I want to be a light for You. Soften my heart God and help keep me diligent in my pursuit of You and to glorify Your name in all that I do.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
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