Reflect today on your call in life to imitate the humility of John the Baptist

And this is what he proclaimed: “One more powerful than me comes after me. I am not worthy to bend down and loosen the straps of his sandals “. Mark 1: 7

John the Baptist was regarded by Jesus as one of the greatest human beings who ever walked the face of the Earth (see Matthew 11:11). Yet in the above passage, John clearly states that he is not even worthy to “bend down and loosen the straps” of Jesus' sandals. This is humility to the fullest extent!

What made St. John the Baptist so great? Was it his powerful preaching? His dynamic and attractive personality? In his own way with words? His good looks? His many followers? It certainly wasn't any of the above. What made John truly great was the humility with which he pointed everyone to Jesus.

One of the greatest human struggles in life is pride. We tend to want to draw attention to ourselves. Most people struggle with the tendency to tell others how good they are and why they are right. We want attention, recognition and praise. We often struggle with this trend because self-elevation has a way of making us feel important. And such a "feeling" feels good, to some extent. But what our fallen human nature often fails to recognize is that humility is one of the greatest attributes we can have and is, by far, the greatest source of greatness in life.

Humility is clearly found in these words and actions of John the Baptist in the passage above. He knew who Jesus was. He pointed to Jesus and turned the eyes of his followers from himself to his Lord. And it is this act of directing others to Christ that has the double effect of elevating him to a greatness that self-centered pride can never achieve.

What could be greater than pointing out the Savior of the world to others? What could be greater than helping others discover their purpose in life by coming to know Christ Jesus as their Lord and Savior? What could be greater than urging others to a life of selfless surrender to the one and only God of mercy? What could be greater than raising the Truth over the selfish lies of our fallen human nature?

Reflect today on your call in life to imitate the humility of John the Baptist. If you want your life to have true value and meaning, then use your life to elevate the Savior of the world as much as possible in the eyes of those around you. Point others to Jesus, place Jesus at the center of your life and humiliate yourself before Him. In this act of humility, your true greatness will be discovered and you will find the central purpose of life.

My glorious Lord, you and you alone are the Savior of the world. You and you alone are God. Give me the wisdom of humility so that I can devote my life to directing others to You so that many may know you as their true Lord and God. I am not worthy of You, my Lord. . However, in your mercy, you use me anyway. I thank you and I dedicate my life to the proclamation of your holy name. Jesus I believe in you.