These days everyone seems to have an agenda in one way or another.
Political parties whether on the left or the right of the spectrum have agendas
and ideas as to what they think are best ways for society to function.
Christians, similarly, are also divided in their thinking or perhaps polarized.
I simply wanted to reflect a bit on the Scriptures in this post just to see if
there is a wrong or right agenda as Christians. My thought is that Christians
seem to act according to their reasoning or as to what they seem to
understand is right, at times. This forgoing is often based on which denomination
they belong. Some adhere to Scriptures (Sola Scriptura), some listen to the
Pope, and so on…. But, who is correct? The answer probably is somewhere in the
middle, but who is to say that is really correct. John the Baptist once said
with relevance to Jesus: "He must increase, but I must decrease (John
3:30)." Perhaps that was and is the best agenda for all Christians to
have, that he must increase, but we must decrease. In other words, that God’s
will be done on earth as it is in heaven increasingly. We are from the earth,
and this should be the transformation which takes place within us daily. If
John the Baptist said that "He must increase, but I must decrease,” I
think that it is wise to adhere to what he said. After all, Jesus said once
that “among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the
Baptist (Matthew 11:11, Luke 7:28)."
Of course, one could argue that John the Baptist was saying
this specifically about himself and his mission on planet Earth as the “voice crying
in the wilderness,” to reference Isaiah 40:3-5. However, I don’t think that any
Christian really believes that "He must increase, but I must decrease” pertains
to John the Baptist alone, but also to all of us following in the footsteps of
Christ. In fact, I doubt that Saint Paul would have ever said in Colossians 1:
27, “...the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the
hope of glory (RSV Bible),” if that was not what we believe. I hope you have
enjoyed reading this brief reflection. Blessings!
Reference:
Bible, Revised Standard Version
