“And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” —Matthew 11:6

When Cindy and I first began dating back in January of 1996, I asked the Lord, “Is this the one I am going to marry?” It didn’t take long to figure that out. Less than a year later, we were on our honeymoon together in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. She was truly “the one.”

In Matthew 11, John the baptizer sent his disciples to Jesus asking, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” From passages like John 1:29-36, we see that John had already clearly identified Jesus as the Messiah, yet he struggles to reconcile his present circumstances of being imprisoned to his Messiah-like expectations for deliverance. If Jesus is truly the one, why am I suffering here in a prison cell? Why isn’t Israel being delivered from political tyranny? Why isn’t Jesus doing more?

Like many others in John’s day, the understanding of the Coming One’s arrival was that the Messiah would bring blessing on those who repented and judgment on those who rejected him. John is not seeing this from his shadowed perspective. Unfavorable circumstances may tempt us to doubt that God is for us, but that doesn’t change his promises. Worldly cultures may push for us to deconstruct our faith, but that pushback never for one millisecond reduces the truth of Who Jeus is. Jesus has withstood such hostilities from anti-Christian societies for more than two millennia now—and the Gospel is still going strong in the face of such opposition.

Jesus’ response to John’s tension was a beatitude of mild rebuke. After giving John’s people a snapshot of how the kingdom of God was indeed advancing through displays of mostly humble acts of service rather than spectacular political revolutions, Jesus tells them: “Blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” John and his disciples must be open to God’s unfolding plan, that even though things don’t seem to be going their way, things are certainly going God’s way.

Blessed is the one who doesn’t fall backwards in the trials of life, but falls forward leaning into grace through every doubt, frustration, disappointment, and setback. Or as Charles Spurgeon said, “Blessed is he who can be left in prison, can be silenced in his testimony, can seem to be deserted of his Lord, and yet can shut out every doubt. John speedily regained this blessedness, and fully recovered his serenity.”

It’s okay John, Jesus is still the one and you are indeed going to experience resurrection life. Though your prison cell screams of abandonment, your chains’ scream of heartbreak, and your future calls you to drink a cup of suffering through martyrdom, God’s redemptive plan is still unfolding and nothing can snatch you from the palm of God’s hand. Your eternity is secure. You don’t need to go looking for another.

Beloved, let John’s good news be your good news no matter what struggles and challenges tempt you to deconstruct your faith. Think about that as you seek to abide in Him this week.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, thank you for the good news we have in Jesus. All things will be made new and glorious in your perfect timing. Until that perfect reconciliation of everything in our lives, we trust you over our present circumstances and continue to rejoice in your unfolding plan of redemption. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Questions for Personal Reflection or Group Discussion:

1. What do you suppose John might’ve been feeling while in prison?
2. What are some major causes of doubt and the deconstruction of faith in our times?
3. What does this passage reveal about the finite perspective of our human understanding?
4. What does this passage reveal about the character of Jesus? What does it reveal about the good news of the Gospel?
5. What might perseverance in your faith look like this week?

The post Shall We Look For Another? appeared first on Jimmy Larche.

Text: John 3:22-31

“He must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:30

It’s been said: to laugh at others is egotistic; to laugh at oneself is humble. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that humor and humility come from the same root word, because both can be therapeutic when we begin to take ourselves too seriously.

If anyone could’ve taken himself too seriously, it would’ve been John the Baptist. He had a very important role in the Gospel narrative. His prophetic purpose was to pave the way for Jesus as “the voice of one crying in the wilderness.” His message was one of repentance, and vitally important to the cause of Christ. But in John 3, we see somewhat of a rivalry unfolding, at least in the eyes of some. A dispute arises between John’s disciples and a Jew over purification. It seems that one might question whether John’s baptism was pure or legit, because Jesus was drawing larger crowds and His disciples were now baptizing more people than John.

Had John been an insecure leader, this might’ve really bothered him. But John didn’t take himself too seriously. That is, he didn’t see his image or reputation as something that needed to be preserved. Rather he summed up his life mission in this statement: He must increase, but I must decrease (John 3:30). His whole purpose was to give way to Jesus—to make less and less of himself, and more and more of Jesus. Therefore John had no regrets about ‘losing’ the crowds to Jesus; it was the fulfillment of his work and hope, even though others saw his ministry or ‘brand’ as failing.

John’s humility caused him to rightly give way to Jesus rather than compete for the spotlight. John understood his role. Therefore, he didn’t take himself too seriously. He knew that he must decrease for Jesus to increase.

You know, grace is an amazing gift that frees us from the bondage of viewing our lives as an image or reputation that needs to be protected. It frees us from the perceptions of others and our own perfectionism. It also frees us from the need for credit. Humility is the result of taking God more serious than ourselves—It’s valuing His glory more precious than our own need for recognition.

Humility helps us to get over ourselves.

Ethel Barrymore, regarded as the First Lady of the American Theater, said,

“You grow up the day you have the first real laugh at yourself.”

I know from experience that my life changed the day I had my very first chuckle at myself—not the kind of chuckle that stems from telling yourself a joke you’ve never heard before (wink, wink), but the kind of laughter that rests in God’s plan regardless of the perceptions that others have of you, or those inner voices that want you to be ashamed and embarrassed at something you’ve messed up. It’s a quiet laugh of the soul that says, “God, I’m a mess, but Your purposes are going to be accomplished in my life despite all of my failures and mistakes.”

Yep, getting over ourselves is part of growing up and making room for more of Jesus in our lives. We should take Christ and His mission seriously. We should think about eternity seriously. We should take our work and our responsibilities seriously. But when we get too wrapped up in ourselves we get spiritually disoriented and live from the outside looking in rather than the inside looking out. Everything in our culture is screaming, “It’s all about you.” But the more we are able to “get over ourselves” the more seriously we can fit into God’s redemptive mission in the world today.

Corrie ten Boom said:

“Look at the world and be distressed. Look within and be depressed. Look at Jesus and be at rest.”

As followers of Jesus, it should be our desire to get over ourselves and make room for more of His glory. He must increase. We must decrease. Think about that, beloved, as you seek to abide in Him this week.

Prayer

Father, sometimes we can be really hard on ourselves. We can strive for perfection and afford ourselves very little grace. We can be overly conscious about the perceptions of others, or adamant about defending our own image. Too much self-consciousness can even make us critical of others. But Your Word gives us a better way. Forgive us for taking ourselves too seriously—for feeling like we have to live up to an image that needs to be protected. Help us to break free from the bondage of being overly self-conscious. Holy Spirit, teach us to become more God-conscious, and to even have a good laugh at ourselves when it’s needed. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Humility is taking God more serious than ourselves—It’s valuing His glory above our need for credit. Tweet this

Questions for Reflection and/or Family Discussion:

1. How often are you able to laugh at yourself? What do you find yourself laughing about?
2. In what ways do you take yourself too seriously? Have you ever been tempted with the need to defend yourself only to hear God whisper: Relax, I got this?
3. In what ways have you ever seen churches or Christian organizations become more concerned with their ‘brand’ than the glory of Jesus?
4. What are some of the lessons we can learn from John the Baptist’s humility?
5. How can you get over yourself this week and make room for more of Jesus and His glory in your daily interactions? Where can you decrease so that He can increase?

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The post Don’t Take Yourself Too Seriously appeared first on Jimmy Larche.