The Life Cycle

“I assure you: Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains by itself. But if it dies, it produces a large crop. The one who loves his life will lose it, and the one who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” (John 12:24-25 CSB)

Jesus lived His life by the principle stated in the verses above. For Him, life was all about giving it away and, thereby, keeping it. Only life given produces fruit. Life hoarded brings stagnancy, decline, and fruitlessness.

In more general terms, people tend to do the opposite of what Jesus taught. People tend to try to build up their own lives and seek qualities of life and possessions that focus on their status. They seek rather than give. Put another way, the tendency is to seek to the exclusion of giving away life. Attempting to “hoard” life has the opposite effect, however. The result is actually loss rather than gain.

Jesus used the metaphor of a seed to illustrate His meaning. A wheat seed that remains in the sack remains that and nothing more. It’s just a seed. But if the seed is planted in the ground, the seed essentially dies. In dying, it puts down roots and sends a shoot upward toward the sun. A stalk is produced and eventually a head of grain that ripens to produce more wheat many times over.

There is nothing wrong at all with wanting to live a good life and wanting to enjoy life. God created us with this capacity and desire. But if that becomes the focus of our lives to the exclusion of the fulfillment of the purposes God has for us, we will end up with only a life of emptiness and insignificance.

Paradoxically, only in the giving of life do we get to keep it.

Lord, May we this day give our lives away, so that our lives may have that enduring, eternal quality that brings honor to You. Amen.