Casandra Martin

I am not a math whiz. I never did think that acute triangles were all that cute. I value the discipline of mathematics, but can’t say that it was a subject that brought me great joy.

There was one line of math problems, however, that did inspire a light bulb to shine over my head – greater than and less than. Once I got the direction of those two-sided triangles figured out, it all clicked. I could look at two numbers, insert a sideways vee, and find the solution.

John 3:30 has one of these kind of math problems in it. It is a story problem in which some disciples are trying to balance the equation, but John the Baptist teaches them about greater than and less than. His disciples are troubled by swelling crowds and diminishing attention. John looks at Jesus and says, “He must become greater; I must become less.”

Greater than and less than. John keeps his eyes on Jesus and comes up with the right answer. I must continually have more of Jesus in me and less of self. Jesus must grow bigger in my life. He must take preeminence. He must loom large while self moves into the grave.

The interesting part of the equation is joy. In the sentence before John reveals the greater than/less than answer, he states, “That joy is mine, and it is now complete.” When Jesus is greater and I am less, the result is complete joy.

My Jesus Resolution today is to work the math problem. My dad was right – I really will use this stuff later in life. Today, understanding greater than and less than will help me see the importance of more Jesus and less me. It will help me keep the triangly-thing pointed in the right direction. I want to be like John, keeping my eyes on Jesus and helping others find the solution in Him.