He must increase

Our Lord himself said that no man born of woman is greater than John the Baptist.

And at the end of today’s Gospel (John 3:22-30), this great man says of our Lord.

He must increase;
I must decrease.

No words of ours could be a greater guide for our lives than these words of John the Baptist.

Christ must increase; we must decrease.

Christ’s love and grace must be advanced in the world through us while our own imperfections and perceived needs should fall by the wayside.

In what we do and in what we say, in what we think and in what we feel, Christ must increase and we must decrease.

In our successes and in our failures, in our advancements and in our struggles, Christ must increase and we must decrease.

In our communal worship and in our private prayer, Christ must increase and we must decrease.

By the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, he must increase and we must decrease.