He Must Increase but I Must Decrease (a devotional on John 3:26-30)
And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!” John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’ He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. John 3:26-30 (NKJV). I think this is one of the hardest things that people have to deal with; when someone is getting more attention or acclaim than they are. John’s disciples saw the rise of Christ and His following and their leader’s correlating decline in people who came to him. This distressed them and it came out into the open. And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was wit...