Reflection on John 3:22-36

One of the greatest temptations you and I will ever face is this desire to be God.

We desire control. We desire honour. We desire power. We desire life to be about us. 

It was never meant to be this way.

In the Scriptures we read about how Satan was the most beautiful of all the angels that the LORD God created, but he wasn't content worshipping God...he thought that he should be worshipped. So he  "said in [his] heart,
    ‘I will ascend to heaven; 
     above the stars of God
    I will set my throne on high...
    I will make myself like the most high.' -Isaiah 14-12-14

Because of this wicked, proud heart that sought to kick God off His throne, he was cast out of Heaven to await final judgement later. This Hell we read about? It was created for Lucifer and the Angels that rebelled (whose names were changed to Satan and demons). 

You see he was not content with serving God. He wanted to be God. What about us?

In the garden we witness the fallen angel creeping up to Eve seeking to destroy God's creation and plan. He knew his end was destruction, and he wanted humanity to follow down his path to hell. The temptation? 'You will be like God' Genesis 3:5. You will get to define good and evil and right and wrong for yourself. You will get to be the authority. Satan led them to sin in the same way he did. 

John the Baptist gives us a different way. A better way. A more glorious way. Life was not meant to make much of us. It was meant to make much of Him. Ironically, when we make our lives about Him, we will experience a JOY that is beyond measure. Our joy will be complete (see John 3:29). We have got it all wrong. We don't find satisfaction by making it all about us. We find satisfaction by making it all about Him. 

HE MUST BECOME GREATER AND WE MUST BECOME LESS.  -John 3:30

One path leads to eternal life: the path of believing in the Son and living under His Lordship (see John 3:36).

The other path of disobedience and obeying only ourselves leads to the just consequence of our sin (see John 3:36).

Let's follow John the Baptist to the path of LIFE, believing that "on the cross as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied." The wrath of God over our disobedience was laid on Jesus so that we might never experience condemnation but only experience the Father's great LOVE.