Afternoon Thoughts:

Are You Excited to Become Unnecessary?

Few people would have considered John a "successful" person. He was a man from the wilderness, uncultured and unaccustomed to the norms of society... He called people to repent. He baptized them in the River Jordan. Eventually, he called out the public sin of a powerful leader. He got his head cut off. Even though he died young, John maintained the focus of his calling: lifting Christ up, pointing to him, and putting God's purposes before himself.  In his own words, John's calling in life was to eventually become irrelevant, fading from the scene. God's definition of success for John's life was for him to become unnecessary. In his own words, John makes this clear to the crowds that followed him: "You yourselves know how plainly I told you, 'I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.' It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the best man is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success. He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less" [John 3:28-30]. [He] is like the best man at a wedding. Though the best man plays an important part in the ceremony, it's not his wedding day. He's not the focus of attention. Instead, he fades so that the bride and the groom can shine. John's life was defined by the pursuit of irrelevance: "He must become greater ... and I must become less." By worldly standards, John was a failure from the beginning. He lacked personal ambition. John deferred to a younger teacher, the new guy on the scene — Jesus of Nazareth. He used his own platform to promote another. He gave his own glory away. He faded into the background. Yet John was loved and respected by Jesus Christ. He did not pursue honor or glory. When Jesus spoke of John, he said, "I tell you, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John" [Luke 7:28]... I was sharing some of this with one of our young leaders in Thailand. I could tell that he had finally caught the idea of fading into the background. Just prior to returning to the States, I met one last time with this group of young revolutionaries and asked them, "Are you guys ready to lead the way?" They shouted, "Yes!" At that moment, I was so proud of them. I knew they would take the things I had shared with them to a new level after I had left, so I said to them, "It feels so good to be unnecessary." At this, one of the young Thai leaders — feeling the weight of responsibility — said, "I can't wait to be unnecessary too." -Xealots: Defying the Gravity of Normality, by Dave Gibbons