Scripture: John 12:20-26 (ESV)
Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
I watched a TV show not long ago, where a person went looking for treasure in a cave at the beach. This particular cave was in the intertidal zone and she went into the cave at low tide. Inside the cave she spotted an old pirate coin inside a small crack in the stone and she could just fit her hand through the gap. The problem was that when closed her hand over the coin, it became too big to fit back through the gap. The tide started coming in and try as she might she couldn’t get both her hand and the coin through the small gap. In the end she faced a choice of either letting the coin go, or drown. Sometimes you have to let something go in order for life to happen.
This is the same idea Jesus talks about in John 12:20-26. Unusually some Greeks wanted to see Jesus. These people were from outside the usual group John writes about and so the disciples go to Jesus to tell him about the strangers. Jesus responds with something a bit unexpected. He predicts that the time had now come for him to be glorified. This pointed to his crucifixion, to his death. He points out that his death is like a seed that needs to die in order to produce a crop. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” Jesus knew he was going to the cross, and he wanted His followers to understand why. He had to die for new life to spring up. He had to “let go” in order for us to live.
But how often do we struggle with this principle? We don’t like letting go. We like holding on to our comforts and our sense of control. We like holding on to a feeling of safety and predictability. We like holding on to the grain seed, because we are scared of what its death might mean for us. But Jesus here shows us that there is a different way. He calls us to follow him as he sacrifices himself for our sake. Now most of us will not be called to give up our lives in following Jesus. But if we are serious about our faith, we will be called to sacrifice something in order to follow Jesus.
“Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.”
This is a radical call to give up the security of the safe life we have led before. We need a heart attitude that is willing to give up everything as we follow him. This can be really hard. Letting go feels scary. However, Jesus promises that the sacrifice is worth it. Sacrifice for his sake is worth it.
So, what do you need to let go of today? What are you holding onto so tightly that it’s trapping your hand in the crack and threatening to drown you. What are you holding on to that stops you from fully following Jesus? Let the thing die and look for the new life that springs up in its place.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I want to follow you in living a life of sacrifice. Help me to let go and let the things holding me back die.
Amen.
Spiritual Challenge:
The spiritual challenge today is obvious. Think about the things that are holding you back from fully following Jesus. What would it look like to surrender one of these things to Jesus today?
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