Photobomber
"You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but I am sent ahead of him. The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends to the bridegroom waits and listens for him and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.” The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all." (NIV) John 3: 28-31
The women’s ministry at my church organized a quiz competition among women of various churches participating in the annual women’s conference. Two ladies were nominated to represent my church, and I was one of them. I knew I was good at memorizing scripture and wanted to show off. Of course, I had been reading the book for the quiz, and I knew it, so I wanted everyone to know I knew it and take credit for the win.
A few days before the competition, doubt started to set in, I feared making mistakes, and I began to wonder; what if I forgot answers, blacked out or worse of all failed. I was overcome by these fears, so I eventually did not compete.
Reading about John the Baptist’s attitude towards the coming of Christ took me right back to my bible quiz with key differences. John had enjoyed being in the spotlight. John knew that a day would come when Christ would come in His glory and the spotlight would no longer be on him. Rather than being anxious about his followers leaving him for Christ, John was delighted. John knew that the aim of his existence was Christ. All glory, fame, honour, and adoration belonged to Christ only.
When we photobomb Christ’s fame and glory by drawing attention to ourselves, we tend to shift the spotlight from God to us. Others should know God through us. The focus is God, not us. The joy of being in the spotlight is tempting, but as John the Baptist did, let us resolve to unceasingly pray for the understanding that our role is to draw attention to Christ; it is His picture frame. He must increase, and we must decrease.