Very truly I tell you, unless a grain 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.
When a seed gets planted, it’s like it dies. The moisture from the soil enters, the seed swells, and the little cells at each end chew up energy from within the seed to send up shoots into the light, and rootlets into the ground. The seed itself has disintegrated, but now it is truly alive, and it can produce many seeds.
Jesus used that picture, to describe what he needed to do. He had to allow himself to come to nothing, through his death on the cross. In God’s mysterious way of doing things, that brings us all forgiveness, and the promise of new life. The death of Jesus on the cross on Good Friday always leads us to Easter, and the resurrection. The one man dies, so that we can all be part of the much bigger ‘body of Christ’, connected in love.
There are always parts of us that have to ‘die’ in order to produce life and blessing for those around us. It might be our attitudes and instinctive reactions. It might be greed or selfishness. It might be learning to work through our vulnerabilities and trigger points, so that we realise what others do isn’t meant as a personal attack, but was just a comment with no malice intended. It’s about learning to see that we can be a positive influence on those around us. It’s about letting go our little ideas we have about who ae are and what we can do, and embracing God’s bigger picture.
Suggested practice. What do you need to let go of, or work on? Ask the Holy Spirit to show you. Listen to the feedback from others around you. Ask someone you trust what they think is stopping you live life to the full.
Then ask the positive question – what am I called to do and be? Again – ask the Holy Spirit to help you grow. Ask you mentor that they think. Look for the things that people appreciate about you, and that seem to work well for you and bring blessing to others.
