How would you like to be John 3:15? You're right there all the time next to the great John 3:16. But nobody has you memorized from childhood. Nobody holds you up at a football game. You aren't called "the Gospel in a nutshell." How many sermons have been given on John 3:16? How many on you? Most Christians have no idea what you say.
There exists a sinful desire for recognition and fame. T.S. Eliot wrote in the poem "Choruses from 'The Rock,'"
Many are engaged in writing books and printing them,
Many desire to see their names in print.
Speaking from experience, pastors in particular wrestle with this temptation. We want to be seen as successful, as the spiritual leader who "makes it happen." John the Baptist, who is the model pastor, said, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30), and, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29).
John knew the power and personal fulfillment of pointing to another, the way John 3:15 does. Isn't it true that without John 3:15 we couldn't find verse 16? But there it is, without fame or recognition, directing the whole world to the Gospel.
You do the same in the place God has put you. And if anyone ever asks, "Okay, but what do you say?" you can tell them that "whoever believes in Him may have eternal life" (John 3:15).
