On the Path with Dr. Beth

In the Gospel of John (chapter 3) we have an incident when John and Jesus are on the shores of the Jordan baptizing. Of course, John was there first! His disciples come to John to complain about the situation. John, answers “No one receives anything except what has been given from heaven. You yourself can testify that I said that I am not the Christ, but that I was sent before him.” John first establishes the difference between himself and Jesus, but more importantly, he knows each of their roles and does not try to be something he is not. He next states: “The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man, who stands and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made complete. He must increase; I must decrease.” (John3:22-30). Wow, a true leader. True leaders know they must train their successors. It’s not all about them, but the big picture. We are each given roles and called to train our successors. Successors may be children, spouses, colleagues, acquaintances, or strangers, but we are called to train them and then let ourselves decrease. Knowing our lane in life can be difficult. So many times we feel we must get in the other person’s lane and show them how it is done. For me, John reminds me of my role and my lane. He reminds me that if I have done my role well, and maintained my lane (my uniqueness), and trained my replacement to take over as themselves, then I have done a good job on the path…