John 12:24-28
Yesterday I wrote about being malleable, being able to change and dying to be reborn. We have the example of Jesus who died only to rise 3 days later. That seems obvious and frankly we might over look it in our daily routine, so absorbed with our tasks, not seeing the forest for the trees so to speak.
However, if we look, we might actually take note of some other examples that are before us. Since the passage today mentions a grain of wheat that falls to earth and dies, lets look at nature. Fall is nearly upon us and we will be inundated with leaves dying and falling from the trees. The appearance of death will be ever present before us. Even in that dying, there is great beauty. The colors of autumn bring inspiration and awe to our eyes and minds. A few months from now it will be darker earlier, the landscape will be bleak, almost like a reminder of death. Cold, dark, unforgiving winter. The three days to Jesus' rise to glory will take us months of winter. And then it will come again, spring. New life. If we take note of the butterfly, we'll see a cocoon, seemingly like death but it yields to new life. It is a beautiful life too, colorful, gentle, majestic. And from the cold hard soil of winter, blossoms will apear, blossoms of new life and new hope that is a sign of our world and who we are.
We are all aware of people that come in and out of our lives. Some actually die, others move away, figuratively or literally. We are left to die in some respects but we move on to new relationships, new life. We are enriched by the friends and family we had and we have new family, new friends. A cycle of dying and new life.
To a gay person, one of the most traumatic things can be coming out. This truly is new life. Of course there can be death. As I said, some friends and even family may be lost. They may not appreciate the growth and the courage to profess proudly who they are, the way God made them. There is a real dying to the old self and rising to new life.
In more worldly terms, there are old jobs and new jobs, new places to live and a whole host of deaths that we come across. It is ours to see, experience and grow from. Each death brings a new life.
What have you died from lately? When have you allowed yourself to fall like a grain of wheat only to be reborn into a new creation? Have you dwelled on the death or on the new life?
However, if we look, we might actually take note of some other examples that are before us. Since the passage today mentions a grain of wheat that falls to earth and dies, lets look at nature. Fall is nearly upon us and we will be inundated with leaves dying and falling from the trees. The appearance of death will be ever present before us. Even in that dying, there is great beauty. The colors of autumn bring inspiration and awe to our eyes and minds. A few months from now it will be darker earlier, the landscape will be bleak, almost like a reminder of death. Cold, dark, unforgiving winter. The three days to Jesus' rise to glory will take us months of winter. And then it will come again, spring. New life. If we take note of the butterfly, we'll see a cocoon, seemingly like death but it yields to new life. It is a beautiful life too, colorful, gentle, majestic. And from the cold hard soil of winter, blossoms will apear, blossoms of new life and new hope that is a sign of our world and who we are.
We are all aware of people that come in and out of our lives. Some actually die, others move away, figuratively or literally. We are left to die in some respects but we move on to new relationships, new life. We are enriched by the friends and family we had and we have new family, new friends. A cycle of dying and new life.
To a gay person, one of the most traumatic things can be coming out. This truly is new life. Of course there can be death. As I said, some friends and even family may be lost. They may not appreciate the growth and the courage to profess proudly who they are, the way God made them. There is a real dying to the old self and rising to new life.
In more worldly terms, there are old jobs and new jobs, new places to live and a whole host of deaths that we come across. It is ours to see, experience and grow from. Each death brings a new life.
What have you died from lately? When have you allowed yourself to fall like a grain of wheat only to be reborn into a new creation? Have you dwelled on the death or on the new life?
Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honour.
‘Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—“Father, save me from this hour”? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’
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