“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”
— John 12:24
“He must increase, but I must decrease.”
— John 3:30
Consider the difference between the Lord and John the Baptist. John the Baptist was such a spiritual man. He declared, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” (John 1:29a). Isn’t that a marvelous declaration?
Eventually, however, there was a conflict between John and the Lord. John said, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). We sometimes admire this verse, because it sounds so spiritual, but the Lord never told John the Baptist to “decrease”; The Lord wanted John to cease completely. When John didn’t cease, he became a frustration to the Lord, and the Lord became a frustration to him.
Adapted from the online series, Serving the Lord as a Seed, Message two, pages 1-2.
Tomorrow: “The Lord’s Example of Being a Seed” (3)