A Christians Job Description: “He Must Increase”

Before I stand up to share God’s Word on Sunday mornings one verse I often find myself praying to God are the words John the Baptist uttered concerning Jesus when he said of Him, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). With one verse John the Baptist highlighted every Christian’s job description. God has given us a mission of making much of Jesus and less of ourselves. God designed each of us with one overarching purpose: to spread the fame of Jesus.

John the Baptist was a person whose heart was utterly and completely swollen for God’s glory. He was a champion for God’s majesty. Life for John wasn’t about John, but Jesus. No wonder Jesus said concerning him, “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.” What a compliment. John the one who acknowledged Jesus as the greatest of all, received in turn the words from Jesus, “no one born greater than John.” John became the least in Jesus’ presence and Jesus saw that as greatness.

What would make Jesus say such a statement? I believe it was because John rightly saw himself in light of God. He knew he was nothing without God. Shockingly, John the Baptist would have a hard time finding a job in today’s local church. Why? Because he doesn’t fit the mold! He’s not professional enough. We want passion we say, “but keep it tamed.” We want the Word taught, “but keep it in a box.” John the Baptist was an out of the box kind of guy. He wasn’t neat and he certainly wasn’t worried about being PC. However, his heart burned for the glory of God. He had one white-hot passion and that was to point people toward King Jesus. He rejected typical man-centered living and became a God-centered, Spirit-filled preacher who rightly understood his job description: “He must increase, but I must decrease.” Well said, John! Guess what? John’s job description is your job description and my job description. “To increase Jesus through our lives.” So the next time your tempted to think, “It’s all about me” remember that our true job description is boiled down into one simple phrase, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”