Who is the center of your universe?

One of the things I’ve noticed over the years raising kids and working with kids, especially in their younger years, is how much their world revolves around them. They want to know everything that’s going on around them. When someone gets something, they want to know they can have something. When someone tells a story, they immediately relate it to something about themselves.

This is a normal thing for a child, but the truth is we don’t change that much as we grow up. Even as adults we often put ourselves in the center of everything.

The Big Celebrity Before Jesus
In our passage for today, John the Baptist is speaking about the Christ. John had become a big deal. He was making waves with his interesting choice of clothes and food and preaching a message of repentance. Lots of people were coming out to see him and even more had heard of him.

The temptation for anyone in that situation is to try to become more and more famous and popular. However, John knew that wasn’t his role. He was just preparing the way. Someone greater was coming. So, John’s job was to get people ready and then step aside. He must become less and Jesus must become greater.

The Great Celebrity of Today
Our lives are similar. It can be very tempting to make things about us. When we start to get noticed and praised, we want that to continue and get more of it. Let’s face it, we often are the greatest celebrity of our own lives and many would like to be great in the eyes of others as well.

However, our lives, like John’s, have a greater purpose. As followers of Jesus, we point to Him. The Bible says we are the light of the world, and we are, it’s just that our light is a reflection of the true light of the world, Jesus. So, we must become less and He must become greater.

If You Want to Be Great, Become the Least
Jesus showed us this Himself. He was willing to become less, to become man. He was willing to suffer and die so that we could become more…so we could become the children of God. As Jesus said,