Death Comes First, Then Life

      By Fern Horst

"And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour. Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." (John 12:23-28)

As Jesus approached the time of His crucifixion, He said that He was troubled about what He was facing. But at the same time He also realized that His death and resurrection was the purpose for which He was born as a man and lived on earth.

He then told a little parable to His disciples to illustrate the value of His death. But it was also to encourage them so that when they were faced with denying their own desires for Christ's sake, that they would recognize ahead of time that good would result.

In fact, it is only when we die to ourselves that we are able to produce fruit. Just as a seed must first be buried in the ground before it can grow and be productive, so we must also bury the right to live for ourselves so that our lives can be productive in the purpose for which God created us.

Imagine if a seed said, "I would rather lie around and bask in the sun, than to be put into the cold dark earth and have my outer shell rotted to nothingness." If that seed's desires were fulfilled, he would soon dry up in the sunshine and become worthless. The purpose for which God created him - to grow into a plant and produce fruit - would not be fulfilled.

It is the same with us. We naturally have desires to live in ways that don't cost us any discomfort. We'd rather forget about the difficulty of growing into who God wants us to be, since that requires that we bury our own dreams and desires and give deference to who and what God wants us to be and do.

If that sounds like a harsh requirement, think about this: what if Jesus had not fulfilled God's purpose for Him in dying on the cross, and had instead continued to live as a man on this earth? He could have lived a "normal" life, perhaps marrying and having children, and living to a ripe old age before dying with his grandchildren at his bedside.

What would that mean for us today? We would not have a Saviour to redeem us from our sins. I don't even want to think about the consequences that would have meant for humankind had Jesus not denied His own human desires and wants.

God has a purpose for you and for me. If we do not hand over to God our rights to our own lives and tell Him, "I'll live for You no matter what that means," His purpose for us will not be fulfilled. It's hard to say what the magnitude of that could be in affecting many other lives, and perhaps generations after us.

This Spring as we plant seeds, or see little plants pushing their way up through the ground, let's remember what that seed has to go through before experiencing the pleasure of fulfilling its purpose and bearing fruit. Even though that seed has to wait awhile before experiencing the warm sunshine, once it submits to going through the death process, he can then grow into what God intended him to be. In the end he'll have far more enjoyment and fulfillment than if he had refused to be put into the ground. After all, the alternative for him is drying up and becoming worthless.

So, what will it be for you and for me? Will we submit our lives fully to Christ to fulfill His purposes through us, no matter what discomfort that may involve? Or will we live primarily to indulge ourselves and inevitably dry up and become worthless to our Creator?

The end results of these two choices are quite a contrast. The good news is that the choice is fully ours.

© 2005 Fern Horst

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