Very truly I tell you,
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.
John 12:24.
After His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Jesus predicts his own death.
This was Christ’s route to glory.
As Jesus is our perfect example, we too must die in order to go to glory with Jesus in heaven.
Jesus speaks of a grain of wheat which must fall to the ground and die or it can’t bring forth fruit.
As Charles Spurgeon states, “Just so must it be with you and with me, and in proportion as we learn to die to self, we shall live to the glory of God.”
That statement by Spurgeon struck a cord with me. What about you? As I ponder that statement, I am convinced I am not nearly living to the fullest that I should for the glory of God.
“In proportion as we learn to die to self, we shall live to the glory of God…”
Wow, I still live for self quite a lot, it seems. Sure, I’ve gotten better at giving and serving others but…
As we live to the flesh, we hold on to what the world offers. We seek our security in people, possessions, and everything else imagined.
But here’s the key… “in proportion as we learn to die to self we shall live to the glory of God…”
And if we pray, Jesus, please help me die to self, we also know we are in for a painful journey of refinement and pruning.
Anyone who can honestly face themselves squarely knows we all are selfish to the core. As we cling to Christ and His ways, He can fill us with the Holy Spirit in order to give up things of this world. We learn to sacrifice for others. Our reputations, the approval of others, our little grudges, our comforts, the impressions we long to make on others, all of this we die to. And more.
Christ died so we can live for Him. And die for Him. Die to self, selfishness, and freely serve Him to bear fruit for His glory. This is hard, so very hard, when our wills don’t want to die.
Presently I am reading, “The Watchmaker’s Daughter” by Larry Loftis. It came out just this year. It has blessed me to join a Christian Book Reading Club at a nearby Church. This title is the month of September’s reading. I love to read and learn. What about you?
Corrie ten Boom and her family teach much about what it means to die to self. This family, along with multitudes of others, had to give up their reputations, comforts. Their very lives were required to be given by many. The ten Boom’s did this with dignity and surely by the grace of God alone. They exemplified Christ in their suffering and although Christ is always first as our example, these people and the many others like them died to self and freely served Christ in the most horrible conditions of a Concentration Camp. Along with this they brought many others to a saving faith in Christ, as the Lord used them in that prison cell.
I find it a remarkable story. And it is one of many. It is what Christ requires of us. We must die to self for Him, for His glory, and to bring others to Christ.
What are we doing with our lives? Are we serving Christ and dying to self daily?
And as we ask Jesus to help us die to self, we must remember it is, then, that Christ produces many seeds using our insignificant lives to bring glory to His significant sacrifice for us on the cross.
Have we taken the time to think through this metaphor of dying to self?
As we learn to die to self, we are free to serve Christ as He leads. We don’t know exactly where that will lead. We trust that even if it means giving up everything we have, we know in our core, the depth of our souls, that we still have Christ and no one can strip us of that.
As we bear fruit and die to self, may we glorify Christ’s name. And let us pray, “Jesus bring seeds, many seeds to bear fruit for you.”