They came to John and said… “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” John 3:26
If Time magazine had been around back then, John would have been up for “Person of the Year.”
The ministry of John was to point people to Jesus, so when Jesus began his public ministry the crowds that had flocked to John immediately left him and began to follow Jesus.
John’s ministry was in decline, and for some of his disciples this was a problem. All of us know what that’s like. Great joy is yours because you are doing something well, but then someone else comes along and he or she does it better.
You found an opportunity, but then others came along and were more successful at exploiting it than you were. You were praised for your success at school or in sports, but now, just a few years later, the spotlight has moved and no one is cheering for you anymore.
The disciples of John were in this position and they did not handle it well. There is resentment, envy, self-pity, and maybe even some anger there. But you don’t see any of that in John. John is at peace. He explains why in these words to his disciples, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven” (3:27).
The secret to peace is to see that someone else’s success is given to him or her by God, and to accept with gratitude and joy what God has given you.
How is it for you when others are doing better than you are? How is it when what is happening for you is less than it was before?
