stepping back

Maybe you, like me, watched NFL playoff football this weekend. If so, you might have seem a shot on the sideline late in the Chargers-Ravens game, when Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was sitting on the sidelines next to former quarterback Joe Flacco. Jackson had just thrown a touchdown pass and players were coming up to congratulate him; Joe would glance at each one as they came up and then look away. For those of us who’ve watched the sport for years, it was a perfect snapshot of the once-great leader now taking a backseat to the young new guy.

That’s hard to do. Sometimes at work you end up with a new manager who’s 15 years younger than you, and it’s your job to mentor him or her along. Sometimes a ministry you started passes into someone else’s hands. Sometimes you sit in the bleachers at the school concert watching another teacher lead your old class into the auditorium. 

I wonder what it was like for John the Baptist. Look at this, from John 1:29-37: “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, “A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.” I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.’

“. . . . The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God!’ When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.”

After years of being the big draw, the reason people came out into the desert, it was time for John to pass the torch. As Jesus’ ministry took off, John’s wound to a close. Was it hard to watch his disciples leave him to follow someone else, even if that was exactly what John was working toward?

John seems to have handled it very graciously, and that makes him a great example for us. We should never forget that the reason we do ministry, the reason we tell the Gospel story, the reason we serve, is to point to Jesus. God should get the glory, not us.

I need to remember that, because I’m not opposed to a little glory coming my way. Like everyone, I like to hear I’ve done well, or helped someone out, or maybe even impressed a little. When that happens, I need to remember that God gave me the gifts and the opportunity, and often the words. By myself I’m a selfish jerk; without the Spirit I’ll never understand the things of God. If I ever do get a glimmer of insight, or do an unselfish thing, that’s God and not me. 

Can I live this week giving all the glory to God and wanting none for myself? More to the point, can I do that without regret or wistfulness? I’m going to try it and find out.