Anchor My Faith

Previous Lesson
Next Lesson
Author: Stephen Weller
579 words, 3 minutes read time

To Live Is To Die and To Die Is Gain

Scripture: John 12:24-26

We ended the previous lesson with Jesus stating that “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” In this lesson we will continue with the statement Jesus was making.

^{Jn 12:23} And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴ Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. ²⁵ Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶ If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

If you take one grain of wheat and place it in an old empty prescription container it will remain a single grain of wheat, but if you take it and place it into prepared soil it begins to produce a plant as the grain decays and disappears. That plant grows and, in its season, will produce a head of many grains of wheat. That which is sown “does not come to life unless it dies” (1 Corinthians 15:36 ESV). The same is true with you and me. If, by faith, we are crucified with Christ and no longer live for self but allow Jesus Christ to live in us (Galatians 2:20), we will then bear fruit (John 15:5) to his glory.

 The one who loves his life, in this context, is one who lives for himself, seeking the desires of his heart. In such a person, we find pride and thus is unable to come under the mighty hand of God to find eternal life. As a result, as time passes the outer self slowly wastes away, but since there is no inner self being renewed day by day the time comes when that person passes away into eternal death.

The one who hates his sinful life in this world and sees his need for a savior and humbles himself under the mighty hand of God and surrenders himself to the lordship of Jesus Christ will find eternal life. For that person, “Though the outer self is wasting away, the inner self is being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16).

As we receive the gift of salvation, we become his “workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10 ESV), and as we do, we become his servants who are serving him. However, to serve him we must follow him to be with him. To follow him one must deny himself and take up his cross (Matthew 16:24). Following Jesus implies a desire to live godly lives and those who do will be persecuted and will suffer for their faith (2 Timothy 3:12) but will be honored by our Father.

Conclusion

The Christian life is truly a paradox; to die is gain. Like the grain of wheat that is placed in the earth, it must die to produce more. If we are to bear fruit, we must die to allow Jesus Christ to live in us. Dying is to suffer and that is a painful process, but that is the path to a fruitful life.