I Must Decrease

If I am ever going to have a healthy spiritual life, I've got to grow my faith so that Christ increases and I decrease!

Study after study reveals the epidemic of loneliness in modern society. This is especially true of men. We men are lousy at friendship. Add on top of that the over-sexualized intoxication of contemporary culture, and every close friendship is assumed to have a sexual component. Ridiculous!

A recent study revealed that a third of young adults will never marry and have children! This tragic poverty of relationships comes as men are giving up on the notion of being a husband and father, and women are convinced “there just aren’t any good men out there.”

Why are we struggling to begin and maintain relationships? The quick answers may contain some truth, but they don’t go deep enough. We can blame technology, but that’s just a symptom. We can blame “toxic masculinity” or “toxic femininity,” but again, these are just symptoms.

To build any relationship, you need to see a healthy relationship model and learn how to build one. Unfortunately, there are so few icons of healthy relationships nowadays.

Relationships are hard because relationships risk, and relationships demand we know ourselves and another and are humble enough to admit we need each other!

Healthy relationships require humility, which has been dismissed as “unhealthy” in modern psychological faddish self-esteem intoxication. Any successful relationship needs a bit of self-emptying to be healthy. It has to be valued above even my desires. But that can’t become part of my character without a confrontation. That confrontation comes today! Are you ready?

Look at our lesson today in John 3:22-33:

At that time, Jesus and his disciples went into the land of Judea; there He remained with them and baptized. John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; and people came and were baptized. For John had not yet been put in prison.

Now a discussion arose between John’s disciples and a Jew over purifying. And they came to John, and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you bore witness, here he is, baptizing, and all are going to him.” John answered, “No one can receive anything except what is given 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; the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice; therefore this joy of mine is now full. He must increase, but I must decrease.

“He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth belongs to the earth, and of the earth he speaks; he who comes from heaven is above all. He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony; he who receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true.”

I bet you won’t be surprised to hear me say that it has little to do with your comfort or reducing our faith to glorified self-help instruction!

No, St. John reveals the key to spiritual maturity and a Normal Orthodox Faith.

After St. John announced to the world that Jesus was the Messiah, which they had all been waiting for for 6,000 years, many of his disciples left him and started following Jesus. St. John’s disciples began worrying that their days in the spotlight were over.

St. John sees the end of his ministry. It won’t be long before Herod arrests him, and Salome asks for his head on a platter. He will be in jail, and, in a moment of doubt, he asks Jesus, his cousin, “Are You the One, or do we look for another?”

However, John also understands the beauty of his accomplished ministry and responds to those who ask him if he is the Christ with grace, humility, and confidence. In verse 30, St. John says, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

The key to actual and sustained spiritual maturity is a Christ-centered life.

When confronted with an ethical dilemma, say to yourself, “He must increase, and I must decrease.”

When tempted by selfish sins, say, “He must increase, and I must decrease.”

When you are disappointed at being betrayed or hurt by another, say, “He must increase, and I must decrease.”

The consistent practice of preferring Christ above all others sets in motion the quiet confidence and peace that weathers any storm. You can face the end of your ministry, the completion of your calling, in peace when your greatest desire is to see Christ increase!

Today, where does Christ need to increase in your life, and where do you need to start decreasing the destructive, self-centered attitudes that hinder your love and devotion to Jesus? The rhythm of daily and consistent prayer, the daily practice of the disciplines of the faith, and the regular and prioritized participation in the liturgical life of your parish are all the tools to help you accomplish Jesus' increasing in your life, and you decrease so that you can finally be a Normal Orthodox Christian!

P.S. Lord, when You were baptized in the Jordan, the veneration of the Trinity was revealed. For the voice of the Father gave witness to You, calling You Beloved, and the Spirit, in the guise of a dove, confirmed the certainty of His words. Glory to You, Christ our God, who appeared and enlightened the world.

Fr. Barnabas Powell is the parish priest at Sts. Raphael, Nicholas, and Irene Greek Orthodox Church in Cumming, GA. He is also the founder of Faith Encouraged Ministries and produces the Faith Encouraged Daily Devotional on Substack. Watch the Faith Encouraged YouTube Channel here - https://www.youtube.com/@FaithEncouragedTV