Jesus 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. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come." John 4:26-29
Imagine with me for moment this following scene:
The farmer from the above scripture is ready to plant the seed. The seeds cries out,"please don't put me in that hole? It is cold, dark, and wet in there. I will die in that hole!"
The farmer responds with, "Yes, you will die in there, but you will also sprout and grow into a mighty tree. You will come alive again and produce much fruit. You will grow very tall and be able to experience the height and depth of my love. You will also know what it feels like to have the wind blow and the sun shine on your leaves."
"But I don't want to die." states the little seed. "I don't want to loose what I have."
"Oh, what you will gain will far outweigh what you will loose in your new life." explains the farmer.
"I am afraid," pleads the little seed.
"Do not be afraid. I will take care of you. You must die to the fear in order to truly live." says the farmer. The farmer then plants the seed and the little seed becomes a mighty tree. The seeds learns in the dark, cold, wet parts of life is where we truly surrender and then we will truly begin to live.
What does it mean to be alive....to surrender oneself to God by declaring God's worth in our lives while recognizing His presence in our lives, by giving to God's purposes, and by lifting His praises in all we do. For when we die to ourselves is when we truly begin to live.
What do you think it means to be alive? You know I love ya - Don
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3 comments:
Have you read the Circle trilogy books by Ted Dekker? The books - Red,White, Black - are a marvelous allegory of God's redeeming work in the lives of humanity. Your story of the seed reminded me of the same process in the last book, only Dekker compares giving ourselves up to die with "drowning" in God's love. I highly recommend this series of books - very thought provoking and a refreshing way to ponder again the story of God's work in the lives of men. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on being alive!
I just had a thought. Have you seen "Tuck Everlasting" (the movie, not the book). It's really insightful in life/death, especially for the Disney movie. The book makes the same points but with different word-age. (I can't believe I used "word-age" in a serious sentence)
I have not read these books...I need to look for them. I have not seen "Tuck Everlasting" either, but Mark Twain was always touching on this question in his writings, thus it makes sense to me the movie would touch on it. I will look for it to watch. Great insights! Thank You.
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