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________________________________________________ JOHN 12:23-26
_________________________________________________ “But Jesus answered them, saying, ‘The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.” Every spring I’m overwhelmed by the riot of color on our local hillsides. The oranges of poppies mixed with the bright purples of lupines and yellow dill would be outrageous anywhere else, but in nature they coexist in extravagant perfection. Only God would paint with such technicolor. Everywhere I look, life is sprouting from seed that was buried, bringing new life from that which has died. What a perfect visual of life through death. Jesus often explained deep truths of God’s kingdom with illustrations from nature. Following His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, people appealed to the disciples, “We wish to see Jesus.” It was a persistent asking; they really wanted to hear from Jesus. You can imagine how excited they must have been to hear, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified” and how confused, when He used a grain of wheat to talk about death, this world, and eternal life. His message: I must die. And not only that, but if you want to follow Me, you too must die. Do you wish to see Jesus? The cross was meant to be a daily reality – embrace it fully. “Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.'” Matthew 16:24 Do you wish for others to see Jesus alive in you? Then partake of Christ’s death and resurrection by laying down your pride and crucifying your natural inclinations. I know it will be painful to your flesh but remember the single grain of wheat – when buried, it produces a stalk topped by a head with fifty or more kernels, each ready to abundantly reproduce. Christ alive in you begins with dying. “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20. – Pastor Jack Have you been blessed by Pastor Jack’s Devotions? Email us now: CLICK HERE |
