“He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.” v.30

As a pastor, it is easy to look at other ministries, churches, people and see things that we desire or wished we had. Sometimes we even begin to compete with those same ministries, churches, and people, forgetting that we are on the same team trying to accomplish the same things, Bringing people into a relationship with Jesus Christ. Johns disciples were at seeing Jesus start His ministry and when they saw some people choosing to be baptized by Jesus instead of John, they said, “everyone is going to him instead of us.” John’s response is so humble, yet mature when he says, “He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.” John understood his purpose was to point people to Jesus. Instead of feeling attacked or less effective, he realized his role and continued to do the things God had called him to do. He was more concerned about God’s Kingdom than his kingdom. He was more concerned about people following Jesus than people following him!

What about me? What about you? Can we begin to be people that understand how and where God has called us? Can we be more about advancing His Kingdom instead or our kingdom? Can we begin to celebrate what God is doing in other ministries, churches, and people, without feeling like there is something wrong with us when others begin to advance the Kingdom? Can we truly be people that say and mean, may He become Greater and I become less?

“‘There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. 19 And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. 20 All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. 21 But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.’” v.18-21

Nicodemus, a Pharisee (Jewish religious leader) seeks Jesus out after dark to ask questions.  Some very good questions I might add, well worth reading on your own.   I do believe Nicodemus is at a crossroads.  He wants to believe Jesus and realizes who Jesus is, but the pull from the other Pharisees causes him to be timid, fearful and cautious.  Thats why he seeks Jesus at night.

I think though when it comes to sin (darkness) and truth (light) we all have that battle of knowing what we should do, but for some reason we stay stuck in the sin that we wish we didn’t do.  I hope that make since.  Jesus words are piercingly true.  We run from the light if we feel it will expose that dark place in our heart that we are battling or struggling with.  For some we avoid that light because we like the sin or darkness. We are fearful of conviction and the shame that might follow if it is exposed. Sometimes we would rather live in the sin, because we don’t like to deal with the guilt and shame that comes we feel when we compare our lives to God truth and light.

However, if we ever want to be more like Jesus, if we ever want to be freed from a specific, we have to let the light shine in all areas of our life, exposing those dark secret places, that sin, that we try to hide so often.  Today, what secret sin need to be exposed to the light?  Who is one person you could talk with and share your struggle and ask them to pray and hold you accountable as you bring this situation into the light so God can deal with it and you can experience freedom from it?  May we be people who aren’t afraid of the light of Christ, knowing that it make us more like Him and less like sin.

“Because of the miraculous signs Jesus did in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration, many began to trust in him. But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew human nature. No one needed to tell him what mankind is really like.” v.23-25

Jesus has just turned water into wine, using ceremonial hand washing water (aka dirty water) and cleared the temple of money changers. People are beginning to ask, “who is this guy?” After clearing the temple the Jewish leaders ask him who has given him the authority to do such a thing? He simply responds with, “destroy this Temple and I will rebuild it in three day.” Little did they know that he was talking about his own body and not the temple building.

After seeing these two things, Jesus own disciples believed even more that he was the Messiah, but a crowd began to emerge as well. The verses above say that Jesus didn’t trust the crowd. Ouch! Why didn’t he trust the crowd? Because he knows how we are. It is easy to follow Christ and when we are in environments conducive to that on a mission trip, at camp, or a conference. It’s easy to follow when we see awesome things happen in His Name. I guess the point is . . . it’s easy to follow Christ when things are easy and others are doing the same thing.

Sadly, life isn’t always easy, and people don’t alway value becoming like Christ or living like Christ. Camp, Retreats, Mission Trips, and Conferences end and we have to go back to the “everyday us.” This is where I see many people give up, loose heart, forget what God has said to them and go back to an old life style. It’s a shame to have to say, but it so easy for us to fall victim too if we don’t spend time with God daily through prayer, reading His Word, and Fellowship with other Believers. We need it!!!

How about you, do you find yourself on a roller coaster ride when it comes to your faith? Have you had great experiences with God and then seemed to have given up? Why don’t you ask God for His help and begin today with a new start by spending time with Him. It may take some time, but you can begin to see and experience Him in your “everyday life”.