There is a movement that a lot of people are getting into right now called "I am Second." You can find videos of popular and ordinary people who tell their stories about how they accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives. There are some awesome stories of what people used to be and what they are now, after becoming a Christian.
A couple of years ago, Lora and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary in Hawaii. While there, we kept seeing a certain sticker on car windows. HE>i We drove around for days not knowing what it meant. We kept trying to make it mean something about the islands. Then it hit us. It means that HE, GOD, is greater than i, me. We loved it. We wanted one and eventually found them online and ordered a couple for our vehicles. It basically goes along with the scripture from John 3:30, "He must increase and I must decrease."
When I think about that, I think of lifting up Jesus, but how do we do that? Hebrews 2:12 says, "I will declare Your name to my brothers, in the middle of the church will I sing praise to You." It is with our voices that we declare what Jesus has done for us. We find it so easy to lift up our favorite athletic team. We sing the praises of our children, their accomplishments and excellence. What about Jesus? How quick are we to tell a friend or a stranger anything about Jesus or the church? All too often we fail miserably in that area. Maybe we need to be like the little donkey that Jesus sent his disciples to retrieve for Him to ride on when entering Jerusalem before his death. Have you ever thought about the fact that the little donkey lifted Jesus up? He raised Jesus above the crowds so that everyone could see Him. The problem is I don't have a donkey and Christ isn't here, you say. Oh, but He is. He lives within each and every person who accepts Him as Lord and Savior. We carry Him with us each and every day through every situation. Therefore, we have Him to lift Him up. That is why we are called Christian. That very word means Christ like.
So, are you a donkey? Are you lifting up Christ so that others see Him in you, in your actions, in your speech, in your love? Jesus was lifted up for us, so let's do our part and lift Him up by sharing Him with who we can, when we can.
Chris Marsh
Pastor, Ditney Ridge Baptist Church
