He must increase, but I must decrease. (John 3:30, NKJV)

The above words were spoken by John the Baptist when some of his disciples and the Jews came to report to him that Jesus had started baptizing, and everyone was going to Him. John was quick to remind them that he had said he was not the Messiah, but only His forerunner. He added therefore, that it was His joy to see Jesus take His rightful place among the Jews as the long-awaited Messiah. This, for him, was the definition of fulfillment – seeing Jesus magnified, and himself diminished.

Those timeless words represent a foundational principle of the Christian faith – a commitment to reflect more of Jesus Christ, and less of our fallen nature, in our daily lives. It is the cry of every true follower of Jesus. And the way to become more like Him, is to allow more of Him to shine through our lives. This is not just about pausing to ask “What Would Jesus Do?” before taking any action. It is more so about yielding to the influence of God’s Holy Spirit who lives in us, and who prompts us to live in a certain way.

There are at least two dimensions to John’s words – one is quantitative, and the other progressive. Our lives are often a reflection of multiple influences, and many times we act in ways that reveal a particular influence (past or present) in our lives. The Christian’s goal is that more of our actions reveal the influence of Jesus on our lives, until ALL of who we are can be traced only to the influence of Christ in us. This is the quantitative dimension – the amount of influence that Jesus has on our lives. Our goal is for that influence to increase, while our selfish human nature is reflected less and less in the way we live.

The progressive dimension to John’s statement is more subtle. The end point of Jesus’ influence in our lives is not identified because it is a lifelong process. The increase of Jesus in our lives is not a one-time transformation but a progressive increase. The same can be said about the decrease of our selfish nature. As we read and meditate on God’s Holy Word and spend time praying, our thinking takes on the shape of Jesus’ thinking until our subconscious is fully taken over by his sacrificial, loving, gentle, and kind disposition. That process steadily takes us farther from our natural inclination, and closer to the nature of our Lord and Master.

As you go about your day today, remember to breathe those words over and over again, turning them into a prayer for God’s grace to be multiplied in your life. May Jesus truly be magnified in your life every day. Amen.

He must become greater; I must become less. (John 3:30, NIV)