"Dying" to Produce

"...Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone:

but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." John 12:24

      Ok, so my picture doesn't show a corn of wheat. But really, I think this principle holds true for many different seeds or grains. (I heard this illustration at church tonight, and it got me to thinking.) So imagine with me for a moment, that you're holding a few grains in your hands. Suppose you decide to place them in a jar for safekeeping. They might stay nice for a while, and be protected. But would they do you any good? Would they grow and produce fruit inside that nice, clean jar? Of course not. In fact, with time, they might even grow moldy and be of no use to anyone.

      To reap a harvest from those grains, they must be planted in the ground. "If any man serve Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall also My servant be..." Like kernels of wheat or corn, in order to produce, we must follow Christ to the fields. Once a grain is planted, the hull, or shell surrounding and protecting the tender inside parts, must die. It must decay and fall away, allowing the inside spring forth and grow.

      Most of us don't like to talk about dying. It's not usually the first conversation to come up at the dinner table or the most popular topic of social gatherings. And that may be a good thing. But maybe it's something that should be pondered in private. These verses aren't talking about physical death; they're suggesting death to our plans, our desires. When we die to self, we become alive to Christ and His plans. Let His desires become our desires.

       BUT -  there's another way to apply this. Many people, even good Christians, hide themselves away (not in body, but in their heart), afraid to get close to others, carefully protecting themselves. From what? From being hurt. From being rejected. From the possibility of failure. From the fear of looking stupid before men, of making a mistake. From all kinds of things. Oh, they'll be kind to others, they'll reach out, they'll serve, and give of themselves - as long as it's SAFE. But the instant the first sign of danger appears - "Whoops, that's out of my comfort zone. Sorry." For some people, that "comfort zone" is pretty small. Jesus said that unless you "die", you will "abide alone". Your "comfort zone" can be a very lonely place. It's often outside of that "zone" that others dwell, and the only way to reach them is to "die" to self, to take risks, to open yourself up. Jesus didn't stay within the comfort of Heaven. He came down to where the "fields are white unto harvest, and the laborers are few". Now He's asking you and me to follow Him - to break out of our "shell" and start taking chances in order to produce fruit. He risked all for you and me; are we willing to risk anything for Him and for others?