a pattern of nature…
I tell you the truth, unless an ear of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies it produces many seeds. (John 12.24)
Before there can be life, there must be death. We can see this principle at work in nature, in the life of Jesus, and in our own lives as well.
This is the pattern of nature. The world is full of visual aids in this sermon! Put a seed into a jewel case, keep it safe, and nothing will happen. Put a seed into the ground, let it rot, perish, and die, and it springs up and shoots out leaves or flowers.
We see this same principle in the passion of Jesus Christ. He came as a suffering Savior:
His crown was of thorns,
His throne was a cross, and
His coronation was a crucifixion.
The seed of His life, given over to death, bore fruit. His life gave and continues to give life to millions of people around the world. He died so that our lives might be filled with meaning, purpose, power, and joy now and for all eternity with God.
This principle is also the path to life for us. The rich fool (see Luke 12.16-21) was a fool because he lived for himself. His vocabulary consisted almost entirely of four words: me, I, my, and mine. He put the seed of his life into the coffin of his own selfishness, and there it remained safe from God’s interference— or so He thought. However, the rich man soon discovers that the only place entirely safe from God is hell. The one thing he held onto in life was the very thing he had to lose one day. We have to take the seed of our life, bury it, and let it die by surrendering ourselves to Jesus Christ so that He may do with it as He chooses. Then and only then will we spring up into the fullness of life and bring blessing to others.
Do you feel you have grasped and embraced this “life-from-death” principle? Do you really believe that the best way to live is to die to yourself? Are you ready to have your life “spent” by God for the purposes He values? Are you ready to die to lust, greed, the hunger for “more,” the accolades of others, vain ambition, the will to power, the need to be right, or the mediocrity of a compromised life? Are you ready to conduct your life and relationships without thought of what you will get in return? Are you ready to die to your notions of my time, my money, my will, and my life? Are you ready to say with the Apostle Paul, “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me?” (Galatians 2.20)
Four simple barometers indicate whether or not we have begun to grasp this principle: bible-study, prayer, service, and tithing. Together, they indicate a life that has died to itself that it may bear much fruit. Anybody can excel in one or two areas, but it is only the surrendered life that will feel the freedom to embrace all four and not hold back.
Lent is a wonderful season to begin dying because we know that there is a powerful life ahead for those who die in Christ. The Resurrection we will celebrate on March 31 is living proof of the reward that awaits the faithful person who is willing to die to herself. One can only imagine the profound impact a generation of Christian women and men could make if we embraced this simple principle.
