“I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honour the one who serves me.” John 12:24-26
For us Christians it’s that time of the year when we remember with thankful hearts the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. You will notice that Easter is made up of 3 parts; The Death, Burial and Resurrection of our Lord and these 3 elements continue to be essential for a successful Christian life. This formula of life coming from death isn’t something new but a principle that God put into place in the beginning and used it again at Calvary.
Look at the story of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22: 1-15 where Abraham offered up his beloved son and his obedience brought great blessing.
If you want a positive God given reward, then there always has to be a death, a burial and a resurrection. We see in the opening verse of John 12:24 that there has to be a death of the buried seed, before it can be raised up and multiplied by God. Jesus was using this illustration to speak of His coming death.
We all want to have a harvest but with God there always needs to be a death of some sort beforehand. Right in the beginning of the Bible we read of this seedtime and harvest principle.
"As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease." Genesis 8:22
God made the principle of life from death for the benefit of all mankind. It is especially obvious in farming and gardening, but also can be applied to everything we do in life. God used this law with the death of His Son and strangely enough the Devil didn’t see it coming. Jesus died, was buried and then was resurrected using the law of seedtime and harvest. God wanted to save the world and have a harvest of many sons and daughters so He planted the ultimate seed, His Son – Jesus at the cross of Calvary.
If you wanted some carrots from your garden you have to plant carrot seeds. They may look nice in their little package but nothing is going to happen until you take them out of the packet and place them in the ground where you will see them no more in that state. You then have to wait day and night without any immediate evidence that anything is going to happen until they germinate and break through the soil. You may get impatient and dig them up to see how they are going but if you do the process will be terminated.
“He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.” Mark 4:26-28
Notice that it’s God who is the one that multiplies the seed and gives it an increase.
“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.” 1 Corinthians 3: 6-7.
The more that we understand this principle of seedtime and harvest the more pleasing we will be to the Father and experience an abundance of success in our lives. As I said earlier this principle can be applied to everything we do. The Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 9:6-11.
“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.”
The Father’s desire was to have more children of the best quality, so He planted the appropriate ‘seed’. He didn’t plant an Angel, a Cherub or a Prophet, He planted His most precious sinless seed; His Beloved Son and eventually reaped a generous harvest.
If we want to be more like Jesus, then we need to apply this principle every day of our lives by dying to self so that we might live and be like Him. Right from the start of our walk we need to surrender (die) to our own will and follow the Master. We have to give Him the steering wheel of our lives, which may seem like a stupid thing to do. It’s especially obvious in a Muslim country where you may lose all your friends, family, job and even your life. But God always promises a great reward, if not immediately in this life it will definitely be in the next.
“And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” Matthew 19:29-30
God always has a resurrection for those who die to self. For most of us we won’t have to wait until we reach heaven for a reward as it’s often in this life and the next thrown in as well. There will always a time of waiting after the death. It seems that the bigger the reward coming the longer the waiting period, the longer the trial of our faith. James 5:7
Another way to see this principle in practise is with our finances, for money can be used as a seed. The bible says that those who sow sparingly will also reap sparingly. If you give away faithfully to God in your tithes and offerings, He promises a harvest. It may not be straight away but will arrive when we need it.
“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” Malachi 3:10
God is showing us here that we should be sowing our tithes and offerings into the places that feed us.
Water Baptism is a clear picture of the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord.
“That's what baptism into the life of Jesus means. When we are lowered into the water, it is like the burial of Jesus; when we are raised up out of the water, it is like the resurrection of Jesus. Each of us is raised into a light-filled world by our Father so that we can see where we're going in our new grace-sovereign country.” (The Message) Romans 6:3-5
For many Christians it’s hard to get baptised in front of all those people, especially if you are a prominent person in the community, for it means exposing yourself to criticism. It’s a type of death for them. Those who go into the water are all on the same level, the peasants go in with the princes, and the humbler you are the easier the task.
“If we get included in Christ's sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection.” Romans 6:8
If we really want to live for God then we need to give ourselves away. We need to die to our life and get out of the packet (our comfort zones) and be planted into the will of God.
If Jesus stayed in His comfort zone of Heaven then there would still only be one Son of God. Praise God Jesus died and was buried on earth, rose again and the reward is a harvest of sons and daughters. Jesus knew this as He faced the cross for it was the reward that motivated Him to go through it all. He had faith in the Father’s love to raise Him from the dead and He could see the harvest of souls up ahead.
“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:2-3
When we obey God by dying to self we identify with Christ the ‘Perfect Seed,’ and as surely as He was rewarded by the Father, so shall we be, not only in this life but the one that is to come.