He must increase, but I must decrease. — John 3:30

May 12, 2013

There’s an old joke I’ve loved since childhood.  It goes like this:

What is the hardest instrument to play?  Second Fiddle.

I can still hear my mom laughing. “Get it, girls?  Get it?”

This “joke” has been on my mind so much lately.   For weeks I’ve been mulling this over.  How much truth it contains!  I got to thinking about service in general, and “quiet service” specifically.  It may sound silly, but this is not easily achieved today, and I have come to believe it must be consciously pursued.  But get this:

I set out a couple of weeks ago to serve someone quietly.  Well, let me clarify; I wasn’t heading out to serve, I was heading to the grocery store, but I saw her, she was in need, and I helped her.  I deliberately sought to do this quietly.

It didn’t stay quiet.   I had to laugh, when I got the call from the church secretary, “are you the Valerie who has twins, and who blah blah blah…”   Hysterical.   She’d written a letter, trying to find me so she might relay her gratitude.  Though we were in the car for a short while, and I remember her name,  I don’t actually remember telling her mine, but I do remember telling her where I went to church, as it was close to her house.  I remember because she lit up, saying her neighbors went there too, and how kind they always were to her.

Driving home I’d reflected on this.  The kindness she said she saw in me, the kindness she saw in her neighbors… is Jesus.  Did she put it together?  I believe she did.

So my question I was asking myself today, “if I couldn’t be seen, would I do what I do?  If my name weren’t on it, would I supply it?  When the accolades cease, is Jesus enough?  If nobody knew…?” has become more of a cry.  A resounding “YES”!  A deeply rooted longing for Jesus to be seen.  Not me.

There’s nothing good in me, but Him.

But He’s all I need.  He’s all any of us need.  He’s everything.

The fact that He invites us to play second (or even third or fourth) fiddle is nothing short of astonishing.

Background – Lecrae

So let me fall back, stop giving my suggestions
‘Cause when I follow my obsessions, I end up confessing
That I’m not that impressive, matter of fact
I’m who I are, a trail of stardust leading to the superstar