From Death Comes Life

I love when God brings some new idea for me to chew on; think on; contemplate. He gives me little bite size pieces at a time and slowly those little pieces start fitting together and I begin to see a bigger picture; an underlying principle that He is revealing to me.

A few months back I was thinking about one of the great paradoxes of the Bible where Jesus tells us in Matthew 10:39 and again in 16:25 that if we want to find our life we must lose it for His sake. The idea here is that if we will die to ourselves, our goals, our ambitions, living for ourselves, and instead live our lives for Him, give our whole self to Him, that is when we truly live. Simple put, from death comes life.

Over the next few weeks more examples of this 'from death comes life' principle began to jump out at me; examples from nature. Being from farm country we witness the life cycle of wheat year after year. The plants start shooting up out of the ground in the spring, making the countryside come alive with the beautiful green life it is producing. On through the summer this life continues to grow and grow into tall stalks that wave their life across the hillside. Slowly, though, as summer fades, so does the life within these stalks. The once green, life-filled plants turn golden and become brittle in the late summer heat. Soon they are completely dry and dead. Yet within this dead plant is a seed that will be planted again and from it life will once more come forth. Jesus tells us of this in John 12:24 "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain."

It is really, truly amazing. From death comes life.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that nature's life cycle is full of examples of this same truth. Dead plants and animals rot and decay into beautiful, rich soil that provides life and nourishment for new growth, which in turn dies to provide sustenance to animals and people. It is woven into our very existence.

Another example that came to mind was that of Christian persecution throughout history and around the world today. The areas where Christians are the most persecuted and often dying for their faith is where Christianity is most likely to spread like wildfire. Not only that, but these seem to be the very places where the church body is the most alive. Christians in China pray for Christians in America to undergo persecution so that we would become on fire for Christ rather than continuing in the lukewarm existense we seem to be in.

I remember reading the amazing story No Compromise: The Life Story of Keith Green. Such an amazing life Keith Green lived and this book has had a great impact on my life. As I have been contemplating this newfound principle, I was reminded of this book. Keith Green was involved in a very impactful ministry that he heavily endorsed to the youth that came to his concerts. I can't remember the exact details or even the name of the ministry, but what I do remember and has stuck with me is that after Green's death the amount of youth volunteering for the ministry skyrocketed! From his death came new life to this ministry and in these young hearts. I even remember that his wife Melody, who wrote the book, quoted John 12:24, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain."

This is just one of so many examples through history where life came from death. BUT of all these examples, the most profound and important example of this principle is found in the Gospel message; Jesus died that we may live. From His death comes life for those who accept it as payment for their own death-deserving sins.

"This is the new, life-giving way that Christ has opened up for us through the sacred curtain, by means of his death for us." -Hebrews 10:20

Have you found life in Christ's death? Read here to find out more.