| The crowds on the river bank must have wondered as they saw John hesitate to baptize a young man who had come forward. He had baptized everyone else who came. What was the problem there? Those who were close enough would have heard, "I need to be baptized by you. Why do you come to me?" There is wonderful humility as well as recognition in those words. It would have been easy to say later on, "I was the one who baptized Jesus." We are all very human. We often want everyone to know just how much we have done or given. But John was different. He knew his position as the messenger. Now the one whose coming he had spoken of was standing in front of him. Paraphrase what John said in your own words, "This isn't right. You are far greater than I am." It was one of John's finest hours. Perhaps we need to practice a little more of that kind of humility rather than pushing in to do what someone else could possibly do better. Some time later John's disciples seemed to have tried to stir up jealously in his heart without success. "Everybody is going to hear this new man, instead of coming to us." But John's humble spirit was again shown in that occasion. "God in heaven appoints each man's work. My work is to prepare the way for that man.... He must become greater and greater and I must become less and less." (Living Bible) That last phrase shows John in one of his finest hours. Too often we are willing for Christ to become greater so long as we do too. Or the temptation comes for us to even overshadow Christ. What did John say? "He must become greater, I must become less." John preached to thousands. He baptized great crowds. Yet one of the finest lessons he left behind was his humility. Are we learning that lesson? | 
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