“I assure you: Unless a grain
of wheat falls to 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) “For none of us lives to himself, and none of us
dies to himself. If we live, we live for
the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we belong to
the Lord.” (Romans 14:7-9)
The paradox of life says that it is only in dying that life
is discovered. So many spend lifetimes and
fortunes trying to find life and peace and significance only to discover that the
more the reach for it, the more elusive it becomes. Their frustration can take them to cynicism. Those
who actually do find life and peace and significance, however, find it only as a
by-product, a result of a dying to self, self-centeredness, and self-interest. They discover that the more they give of themselves,
the more fulfilled they become, the more alive they are.
This is a life principle paradox, but the concept itself does
not produce ultimate significance, defined as “eternal life.” That comes only when the principle is practiced
with regard to a personal faith walk with the Lord in the context of His grace.
His grace toward us provides eternal life
when we respond with personal faith, which may be described as a dying to self-effort.
The deeper we move into this faith walk of
giving our lives away, we begin only then to explore the depths of the meaning of
eternal life.
Lord, May we die to self today
and each day, and live unto You. Amen.
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