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Among the most critical, yet frustrating challenges for the believer is serving God with true worship. This difficulty is especially prevalent during worship time in church, where familiarity, the cares of this world, and post-church plans make keeping our thoughts centered on Him immensely difficult. There is also for us in ministry the nagging temptation to desire and revel in the attention our good works and skills receive rather than crediting God and serving solely for His glory and purposes. Thankfully, God's Word in John 3:30 reveals the focus that overcomes these soulish obstacles and keeps our hearts continually on Him: He must increase, but I must decrease.
The immense importance of this mindset can be illustrated with a picture and its frame. Specifically, when we look at a picture, it should be the thing that draws our attention, not its frame. If a frame is so eye-catching that it draws attention away from the picture it is holding, it is not serving the purpose it is intended to. Rather, a proper frame is one that draws attention away from itself so that the picture may be the focal point between the pair. Such illustrates the way our lives should be lived for Christ, making ourselves empty vessels upon which He is exalted for the world to see.
An example of a believer who continually served Christ with this mindset is John the Baptist. In John 3:25-26, John's disciples were disappointed to see Christ's ministry overshadowing John's, with the former drawing great crowds instead of the latter. Although John could have been overcome with disappointment or jealousy over his ministry being overtaken by Christ's, his response in verses 27-30 instead beautifully portrayed the heart of a true worshipper. Here, he compared Christ to a bridegroom and himself to a bridegroom's friend, noting how the latter receives little attention, yet rejoices greatly over the former speaking, receiving his bride, and being the center of attention. Likewise, being an overshadowed servant of Christ filled John with tremendous joy and a desire to further magnify Christ through continually decreasing in significance. This attitude of John the Baptist's is the one we should always adopt when serving and worshipping Christ.
However, this is only possible when we continually seek the life we are called to live in Romans 12:1-2. First, we should be moved to genuine worship by dwelling on God's mercies in our lives, from Christ's salvation and unfailing love to the multitude of blessings He has given us in our lives. Next, we should surrender ourselves as living sacrifices to God, yielding all we are and have to Him so that anything hindering our servitude and worship to Him would be removed. Finally, we should submit our minds to the Holy Spirit's renewing process, allowing Him to replace our self-absorbed, soulish thoughts and desires with His perfect ones. It is by dwelling on God's mercies, making ourselves living sacrifices, and yielding to the Spirit's mental renewal that allows us to continually decrease as Christ increases.
Like a frame holding a picture, our servitude to Christ will not be genuine unless we prioritize drawing attention and praise to Him over ourselves. Thankfully, this mindset can become our primary one through pursuing the joyful, self-sacrificial, and Spirit-renewed lifestyle of Romans 12:1-2. Although this pursuit requires great discipline and loss, it results in a glorious reward of experiencing true worship to our Savior and the intimate relationship with Him that produces it.
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