Becoming Less

³⁰ He must become greater; I must become less."-John 3:30

When you boil the gospels down, these words from John the baptist are what our response is all about... "He (Christ in me) must become greater; I must become less."

This is why our salvation is not about how "good" we are or about how many good things we do.  It isn't about some cosmic balance sheet that must end up with more good than bad.  And this is why it is faith alone.

It is in FAITH that we can allow our selves to decrease as we allow Christ to increase.  As Christ increases we find that those good works that we worry so much about flow from us quite naturally.  But Christ cannot increase in us simply by attending church on Sunday.  Our faith life cannot simply be a slice of our pie called life.  It must be the flavor of the whole pie.  Our faith must permeate our family life, work life and social life.   That flavor is a blend of worship, prayer, study and fellowship with other Christians.  We must continue to grow in our faith throughout our lives if we are to let Christ increase in us.

Our "selves" will never completely disappear and Christ will not completely take over.  God doesn't want that.  Our selves are what make us unique and useful to God in our own ways with our own gifts and talents.  But we are to let him grow and flourish by our own spiritual growth. 

If you're spiritual passion is lacking, perhaps you simply need to spend more time with God so that Christ will increase in you and renew that passion.

Lord Jesus,

Show me how to become less that you will show forth your love from within me.  Amen.

Joys:  Being with family and meeting my precious new nephew; watching the sun melt into the Gulf; the incredible beauty of creation