In ministry, all we need is to be faithful in whatever God has entrusted to us. Heaven will demand an account from us for what He assigned to us. However knowing that my brother’s ministry is also assigned from heaven would require:
That John the Baptist did not deceive himself nor kept anyone in doubt about his person or the nature of his ministry even if his disciples thought to exalt him to a position he did not attain or merit is a lesson for us to learn. He did not give a second thought when the disciples told him about Jesus and the crowd he was pulling. He quickly deflected the attention back to Christ. He earlier told people who he was not and who he was. Of himself he said:
In comparison with Christ, John the Baptist didn’t think himself anything. Yet this same man was the very one our Lord told the crowd “…of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist” (Matt 11:11). Just as John the Baptist had a right view of his person and ministry he also had a proper understanding of the person and ministry of Christ both in their global context and in relation to his own life and ministry. He might as well have told his disciples, that man you saw baptising and people trooping to him is the very reason I exist and minister. ‘You yourselves can testify that I said that I am not the Christ but I am sent ahead of him’ He exalted Jesus in the following words:
The purpose for which John was sent was to reveal Jesus to Israel. He was contented with that and sought no more. He was satisfied being a mere helper of Christ. When it came to comparing him with Christ he had only one desire, “He must increase, but I must decrease”(John 3:30). P.S. Watch out for the concluding part. -Namani J Nharrel |
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