Living To Die

My eyes were recently opened to how many things in creation demonstrate the things of God, year after year, season after season. There are many, but today I would like to focus on one: seeds.

Every year, in the spring (most people plant on May 24) farmers and gardeners plant seeds of all kinds - vegetables, fruit, flowers and many other plants. Most of these come in seed form, and the seeds have to be planted a few inches under the ground. After a few weeks, with the right care and conditions, the planter will see a green shoot come up through the ground and before he knows it, there will be a thriving, growing plant.

Isn't it amazing that God created this process to mimic what we go through in life? Think about it...let's look at a tomato plant for example. A tomato seed has the potential to grow into a plant that will yield many tomatoes, all through the season. However, if it does not go into the ground and die, nothing good will ever happen to it. It will get old, stale and maybe even moldy, depending on where it is being stored. A seed that doesn't get planted is a waste - even though it has to die to truly live, it is always worth it!

This is what Jesus wants from us - all of us! Dying to self may be painful and hard to do, but just like the tomato seed, without dying, we will never discover what true life really is.
John 12:23-25 - "Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, 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. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life."
I Corinthians 15:36-37 - "What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else."

After the seed dies and starts growing, it doesn't stop there. Imagine of a farmer only looked after the seed until it came up and then stopped there - weeds, bugs and the elements would stop the plant from growing more. It's not enough for the seed to die - it still has to be cared for and protected so that the conditions will be perfect for bearing fruit.

Jesus will never stop taking care of us. He has promised to never leave us or forsake us, no matter what. He will be there when we go through the darkness of death and when we discover the light of true life.