Life Through Death – March 21, 2024

[Jesus said] Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
John 12:24-26

Life Through Death

You dig a small hole in the dirt. Carefully, you place a seed inside of it and gently push the soil over the seed. You wait, and all on its own, the seed sprouts. A green leaf pokes through the ground. And that single seed becomes a plant that bears more seeds just like it. Life comes through the death of the one seed.

It seems counterintuitive, right? Life through death. Yet, that was the very core of Jesus’ mission. He came to bring life to his followers through his own sacrificial death. Like a seed planted in the dark dirt, Jesus would be buried in a tomb dug from the earth for three days. After those three days, Jesus would rise to life and promise the same life to all who die believing in Jesus as their Savior.

But Jesus doesn’t just focus on death with his words; he focuses on life, too. A man once reminisced about the pastor he had growing up—he remembered the preacher saying, “You must die every day!” in nearly all his sermons. As a boy, he didn’t understand what the preacher meant. He didn’t want to die! He wanted to live.

He later understood what that preacher meant. Die to your sinful self. Die to selfish desires. Surrender your sinful agenda and submit to God’s love and will. Death to self brings life.

It’s a life full of love for God and the people in your life. It’s a life of peace and contentment. It’s a life with Jesus. It’s not easy. But it is life to the fullest, where Jesus promises his Father’s honor to all who serve and follow him.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, you sent your Son Jesus to die so that I may live. Help me to die to my sins every day and live in the life you give. Amen.