All of us by now have heard the remarkable story of Todd Beamer. He was the man who led the attack on the terrorists, who had hijacked United’s Flight 93.
He is now famous for his two words, "Let’s roll!" which became the battle cry on the plane that morning.
In 1992, Todd made a list of the values and characteristics he wanted to identify in his life. A major goal of his was, "I want to fly below the radar screen."
By that he meant that he wanted to be inconspicuous and endeavor to maintain a low profile.
It is very obvious that John the Baptist knew nothing about radar screens. Yet he seemed to adopt the principle involved as his philosophy for life.
He says, in the words of the text, "He (Jesus) must grow more prominent; I must grow less so."
John didn’t use the American approach to the ministry. He had not had the Dale Carnegie course. He called them "vipers."
But Jesus said of him, "Verily I say unto you, among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist." Matthew 11:11.
The key to his life was the fact that he decided to take the low road of humility.
The religious leaders came out to him and asked him, "Who art thou?" He did not say, "I am the founder and president of the Jordan River Protest Movement."
Rather, he said, "I am the voice of the one crying in the wilderness." He did not become his own press agent. He flew below the radar screen.
When questioned about whether he might be Jesus, he said, "I am not worthy to even untie his shoes."
The scribes and Pharisees lived by a different philosophy. Matthew 23:5 says, " But all their works they do for to be seen of men." They wanted the best seats at feasts and in the synagogues.
I've watched people over the years and it quite glaring that people are more about themselves rather than being about others.
Luke 22:26 states, "He that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve."
A little country boy was fishing with a makeshift pole, but oh was he catching fish! A city fellow had the finest fishing tackles, but was having no success at all. He decided to ask the country boy about his success. The boy replied, "The secret of it all is that I keep myself out of sight."
And, too, the secret of it all in Christian ministry is that we keep ourselves out of sight. In other words fly below the radar screen!
Life is not about patting yourself on the back and about listing all the platitudes that have come your way. Life is about learning to serve, have the heart to serve and then doing it.
The more you see of me should also be the more you are seeing of Jesus. I must decrease but He must increase.
“You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake.” 2 Corinthians 4:5 NLT
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