Eclipsed

He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. John 3:30-31

Today is the day of the eclipse of the Sun, and we are starting the day foggy. Any day that brings to mind an eclipse will also bring a couple of scriptures to mind. One is the darkening of the day at the death of our Lord on the cross, but the other is that great humility of John the Baptist.

For a brief time in the wilderness of Judea, John the Baptist shone as a light unto the world. But he knew that he was just that small moon coming in between the light of the Lord and His people for a brief time. As John passed, he knew that the Light of the World was about to shine forth and the Baptizer did not want to get in the way of the Son! To act as a herald for the coming of the Lord was a great privilege, but John well knew that he was not worthy to do more than his brief mission. "He must increase, but I must decrease," John said to his disciples in a wonderful display of personal humility.

In the same way, each of us must come to know in this life that we are not the Lord. Belief in Jesus is a vacating by us of the throne of life. Where once we called ourselves king and captain, we give up all to Him who died on the cross to save us. We step back that He might step forward. We learn to quit proclaiming ourselves and we bear witness to the Lord, just as John did in closing John 3:

"He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” (v36).

John the Baptist was indeed eclipsed by the Lord Jesus, and that is the way he would have it. We too must learn to give place to the Lord, and become less while He becomes greater.

Get eclipsed today!
Bucky