You're Not Her

…“A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me.” John 1:30

Have you ever heard the phrase, careful what you wish for?  A humble heart is something I pray for constantly and I laugh at the frequency of God’s living color lessons. I had a pretty funny one recently.  I was in the lobby of a convention center after I had given a talk and a lady came up to me and gave me a hug and said, “Your message really touched my heart, will you take a selfie with me?.  I stood right beside her and as she held up her phone to snap our picture and as soon as she had it in place she said, “Oh wait, you’re not her, I thought you were someone else.”  We laughed and went different directions.  It gave me a lot to think about!  It also made me think a lot about selfies in general. Selfies make up a pretty large and humorous number of overall posts on my Facebook newsfeed.  These quickly snapped images capture important moments, achievements or places and they give the viewer a tiny little snapshot of someone else life.  I’ll make a confession; I have never posted a selfie because I need more time to pose and make sure I don’t look like I have three chins or a neck the size of a tree trunk.  Photo  angles matter and by the time I get it all lined up, the moment’s long over!  Selfie overload can cause us to think our life isn’t quite as exciting as the folks posting dozens of selfies in fancy, fun places and if we get too tangled up in the likes and shares and comments from our selfie posts it could make keeping our humility in check a little tough.

Humility can be a tricky think to master.  Our culture screams “be the best” and we seem to focus constantly on who’s in first place but  the first chapter of John’s Gospel  teaches a beautiful lesson about the exact opposite.  In this competitive world it’s a bit shocking to read the words, “A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me.”  It’s one thing to think someone is more important than you but to announce it loud and proud to all who will hear; that just seems crazy by todays standards! The funny thing is, John was completely comfortable with the way the events unfolded.  A supporting role was perfect for him.  He recognized that he had a completely different purpose than Jesus did fulfilling God’s plan.  He didn’t get caught up in the fact that he would be doing the baptizing and he had been chosen to bring God’s grace to the crowds.  He simply saw himself as a part of something amazing.  He didn’t feel the need to be the star or have folks notice his good works.  

John wasn’t the main attraction, he was to prepare the way and take part in the mighty work of the Father and his Son.  I’m sure if selfies would have been taken that day, John would have been nowhere to be found. He wanted no notice, no thanks, no acknowledgement.  John opened the door, so to speak, so the Father, Son and Holy Spirit could enter and add an amazing chapter to the love story God shares with us.  Today is a great day to ask yourself, what are my motives for serving the Lord?  Do I do it for him or do I do it so others might notice I’m a part of things? 

A Seed To Plant:  Take this little prayer with you into your quiet moments with the Lord this week.  Loving Father, please help me push past my pride. Give me the grace to love and serve you with a humble heart.  Please allow me to see those who need your mercy and your love and show me how to help them make room you so you can be the star in their life. Amen 

​Blessings on your day!