They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.” To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.” John 3:26-30
Lord Jesus, I want nothing to do with a wardrobe of camel’s hair clothing, and a diet of locusts and wild honey (Matt. 3:4), but I DO want more of John the Baptist’s joy—the joy of your increase and my decrease. Even in his mother’s womb, John leapt for joy before you (Luke 1:39-41). I want to be that free, that glad, and that peace-full in your presence.
Then, like John, I’d be freer to make much of you, and have less “need” for people to notice, appreciate, and “get” me. I’d serve more and whine less, and encourage more and criticize less. I’d more readily accept that you, my Lord, give AND take away (Job 1:21)—believing that both come as sovereign appointments from a throne of grace.
Such joy would free me for a life of contentment—because it’s anchored in you, not determined by circumstances or possessions, politics or people. I’d be freer to love others as you love them, and not as I want them to be. I’d savor the riches of grace more than I’d remember the failures and foibles of others.
Such joy would free me to be present in the moment, and less obsessing about the next thing. I’d be freer to live each day for the coming of your kingdom of peace, and less for my tiny fiefdom of self. Make it so, Jesus; make it so. So very Amen I pray, in your mercy-full and mighty name.
