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He Must Increase… (Daily Devotion #667)

May 13, 2024

“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)

When lost sinners accept Jesus as their Savior and enter into a personal relationship with Him, they begin the process of becoming new creations in Christ. Heartfelt faith in Christ is the mechanism that triggers an outpouring of God’s grace, allowing believers to be forgiven of their sins and to receive God’s gift of salvation. To be useful and fruitful in our newfound standing as children and heirs of God, we must make the LORD our highest priority and center our lives on Him. Jesus both desires and deserves this place of highest prominence, above the people, possessions, and pleasures of this world, even our dearest loved ones and most treasured pursuits.

John the Baptist, whose earthly ministry prepared the way and heralded the coming of the incarnate Christ to offer Himself as the supreme sacrifice for a rebellious human race, said in reference to Jesus: “He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all.” (John 3:30-31) Christ put our need for a Savior first when he endured the cross for our sins, and He alone is worthy of exalted preeminence in our hearts and lives. The Father in heaven sent His beloved and only begotten Son to redeem the world and has given all things into His hand. In turn, we must give Jesus our all and trust Him to guide each of our lives to the best possible outcome.

John the Baptist made clear that faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation, saying, “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life, and he who does not believe in the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides in him.” (John 3:36) As Christians, we should express our gratitude every day and share with others that Jesus took bore God’s wrath for our sins at Calvary, so that we could be clothed in His holy righteousness and free from the penalty that we deserved. Truly, Jesus must increase, be uplifted to the most honored place in our lives, but we must decrease, humbling ourselves before His majestic throne of grace and offering ourselves as living sacrifices to carry out our calling as His earthly servants.



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