Less is More

John 3:30 John said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Have you heard the phrase “less is more”? We use it in reference to food and spiciness and when we talk about our daughter putting on make-up. Less is more. Understated is better than flamboyant. Less activity can lead to more productivity. The less we are busy with the more we can concentrate on what we are doing. Less is more.

John the Baptist was talking with the Pharisees about Jesus. Jesus had begun to increase his ministry with gathering disciples and baptizing people. The Pharisees were challenging John and wondering what he thought about this new guy who seemed to be eclipsing his own ministry. And John’s simple response is: That’s the way it should be. John knew that his own ministry wasn’t about him. It was about Jesus. And now that Jesus was here, John needed to become the supporting role and eventually fade into the background. “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

It is the prayer of most preachers, I suspect. Jesus, this is all about you. May I fade into the background so that you are brought to the foreground. Our humanness fights against that, though because we always want the attention on us. We long for the spotlight so that people notice us and validate that we exist as humans. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be noticed and loved and appreciated. But all too quickly it becomes all about us. Everything we do, good and bad, becomes an attempt to draw attention to ourselves.

John wasn’t being self-deprecating. He wasn’t trying to get the Pharisees to feel sorry for him so that he could get into their pity spotlight. He was following the plan that God had laid out for him. “Do your thing until my Son shows up and then, let him lead the way.”

Jesus lives in each of his baptized, called children. The prayer is that Jesus would increase in our lives and that our lives would fade into the background. Paul says that Jesus lives in each of us. It is no longer I who live but Christ living in me. (Galatians 2:20) Less of me, more of Jesus.

Heavenly Father, may our lives reflect your love. Our self-centered ways sometimes distract people from seeing Jesus living in us. May we decrease so that your Son may increase in us. Amen.