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Day 34Unless a Grain of Wheat Falls Saturday, March 24, 2018
And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 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. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 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. John 12:20-26
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Devotional:
A very dear friend of mine said her spiritual word this year is “seed.” As soon as she said it, I felt a thrill through my soul, “Yes! Yes!” In a flash, I totally got it. That word completely speaks to me about the true life in Christ- and the life of Christ in me. And, as I meditate on this passage, I begin to see why maybe the tree has been “my thing” all these years. As long as I can remember, since I was a young girl, the tree represented God’s stability and strength and promise to me.
Everything in God’s creation is made to point us to the spiritual reality of who we are in relation to our Maker. In God’s natural world, the seed is the promise of life; the tree, the fulfillment. Jesus is the seed inside of us- the unborn promise of life. We come into being carrying this potential - not alive in seed form- the mystery of life sealed shut- an unfathomable Could Be. We are born into this world with this seed locked up inside us. We carry it in us unaware. Unaware until God reaches into the cavity of our heart and touches it, brings it to our attention, makes us stunningly aware that the seed holds Life. This seed is holy Jesus, the word of God, the hidden treasure of our soul.
An acorn lies on the ground, buried under a pile of leaves, covered by soil. It sleeps peacefully, unaware of the giant-oak -tree-promise locked inside its hard protective shell. The acorn is destined to remain an acorn until the perfect conditions arrive, and like a secret code, a whispered password- the oak awakens. This is the moment the acorn dies. Dies to allow the oak to come to life, to grow, to break out of the now useless acorn shell, to set roots into the ground, shoot it’s glorious unfolding self up up into the sky, growing, reaching, unfurling- eventually to bear more acorns. To provide shade. To provide protection. To be the oak it was designed to be. So beautiful, isn’t it?
If Christ is to raise a new life like His own in us, then we each, in the inmost spirit of our life, must have a seed of Christ. Our acorn natural self has the promise of an oak of righteousness, Jesus Christ, the hope of glory. God in His extravagant grace gives us the gospel and his Word to become the conditions that unlock the mystery. The perfect conditions arrive in the hearing of the Word. We see the promise. We understand now. We have to allow our acorn self to die, to bring forth the life of this majestic Oak. We fall to the ground and die, the mystery of the gospel acts, and Jesus is born inside us. And our shell falls away, the roots grow down and nourished by streams of Living Water grow our Oak mighty and strong, reaching and unfurling, bearing fruit. Majestic and glorious. To be the oak we were designed to be. So amazing, isn’t it?
This is the Gospel. We are to die to become life, just as Jesus did for us on Calvary. Are you ready to let your acorn self die so that the mighty oak that is waiting in you may come to life, to fulfill Isaiah 61:3 and “... give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.”? Amen and amen.
Everything in God’s creation is made to point us to the spiritual reality of who we are in relation to our Maker. In God’s natural world, the seed is the promise of life; the tree, the fulfillment. Jesus is the seed inside of us- the unborn promise of life. We come into being carrying this potential - not alive in seed form- the mystery of life sealed shut- an unfathomable Could Be. We are born into this world with this seed locked up inside us. We carry it in us unaware. Unaware until God reaches into the cavity of our heart and touches it, brings it to our attention, makes us stunningly aware that the seed holds Life. This seed is holy Jesus, the word of God, the hidden treasure of our soul.
An acorn lies on the ground, buried under a pile of leaves, covered by soil. It sleeps peacefully, unaware of the giant-oak -tree-promise locked inside its hard protective shell. The acorn is destined to remain an acorn until the perfect conditions arrive, and like a secret code, a whispered password- the oak awakens. This is the moment the acorn dies. Dies to allow the oak to come to life, to grow, to break out of the now useless acorn shell, to set roots into the ground, shoot it’s glorious unfolding self up up into the sky, growing, reaching, unfurling- eventually to bear more acorns. To provide shade. To provide protection. To be the oak it was designed to be. So beautiful, isn’t it?
If Christ is to raise a new life like His own in us, then we each, in the inmost spirit of our life, must have a seed of Christ. Our acorn natural self has the promise of an oak of righteousness, Jesus Christ, the hope of glory. God in His extravagant grace gives us the gospel and his Word to become the conditions that unlock the mystery. The perfect conditions arrive in the hearing of the Word. We see the promise. We understand now. We have to allow our acorn self to die, to bring forth the life of this majestic Oak. We fall to the ground and die, the mystery of the gospel acts, and Jesus is born inside us. And our shell falls away, the roots grow down and nourished by streams of Living Water grow our Oak mighty and strong, reaching and unfurling, bearing fruit. Majestic and glorious. To be the oak we were designed to be. So amazing, isn’t it?
This is the Gospel. We are to die to become life, just as Jesus did for us on Calvary. Are you ready to let your acorn self die so that the mighty oak that is waiting in you may come to life, to fulfill Isaiah 61:3 and “... give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.”? Amen and amen.
Prayer: |
Lord Jesus, I pray that You will show me, day to day, how to die to myself so that Your Life can live in me. Give me the courage make choices that bring first death to me and then life in You! Guide me as I grow into an oak of righteousness and bring glory to your name!
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Song/Hymn: |
Though You Slay Me “…yet I will praise you. ..”
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