"Filled With Joy At His Success"

Scripture Passage

John 3-4:45; Luke 3:19-20

Scripture Focus

It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the best man is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success. (John 3:29 NLT)

Observation

I seem to be quite taken with John the Baptist these days. Our readings are filled with wonderful reports of the early days of Jesus’ earthly ministry—today in particular there are reports of two remarkable conversations. First, there’s Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus. How quickly—abruptly, really—Jesus gets to the point with Nicodemus: “Unless you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3 NLT). What a powerful declaration! And I love the life lessons in Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman. He could have spoken with her about a dozen points of brokenness in her life, and the one thing He prioritizes is worship “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). “True worship,” wrote Robert Webber, “sets the world in order.” In other words, get worship right—“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30 NIV)—and everything else comes together. Good truth there.

But the thing that captures my attention today is John’s attitude towards Jesus’ growing body of followers. I’m a competitive guy by nature—not, perhaps, so much as I used to be, but competitive still. And I confess—my life is tied so closely to my ministry, and I want to be the best at what I do. Ultimately that sometimes translates to “I want to pastor a bigger, better church than anyone else.” What starts as a pure motive of wanting to serve well and lead well and make a genuine, Spirit-empowered difference in people’s lives gets twisted by a competitive nature not always inclined to celebrate the success of others.

But John seems to have worked through that. John’s ministry is shrinking, while Jesus’ ministry seems to glow with the kind of life and vitality that produces bountiful growth. And John says what? “I am filled with joy at his success” (John 3:29 NLT).

And so I pray…

“Sometimes, Lord, I’m able to celebrate the success of others…but not always. Give me a heart more like John the Baptist’s—a heart more intent on the advance of your Kingdom than the ‘success’ of my life. Let me be ‘filled with joy’ at Kingdom advance, whenever and however it comes.”

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