Phases in Life
Did you ever go through a phase in your life? Maybe it was a phase of trying to fit in as a teenager, or a rebellious phase as a child (or as an adult ;-). Or, maybe you went through one of those 'Who am I' phases, trying to find yourself and discover who you really are. Not to get too psycho-babble, but one of the many weird phases I went through in my life was about 12 years ago.
It was what I like to call my 'country living' phase. I truly wanted to start living more like a 'homesteader'. Something about growing my own food really intrigued me. So, I began to read books on how to live a lifestyle of 'self-sufficiency'. One book for beginners recommended that I grow my own vegetables as a first project.
Growing up in mostly an urban environment, I knew nothing about living off the land. Self sufficiency for me was living near a convenience store and a bus stop. But we had recently purchased our first house, in a rural area (which I still live in today,) and it had a decent size backyard. I found a nice spot toward the back of the yard to plant my first garden. So, I recruited the family and we spent a day digging up the soil.
The more I dug and turned the soil, the more I questioned my calling as a homesteader. But, eventually we finished and we had a nice area all set to go. I put up a three foot wire fence and began to search the internet for various seeds to plant. I ordered broccoli, spinach, zucchini and tomato seeds. I could hardly wait for the package to arrive. When it did, to my surprise they all came in one small envelope.
I never really saw seeds before, so I was shocked by how small they were. Immediately I took them out to the dirt area and began to scatter them about and lightly cover them with soil. For a moment there I felt like a real farmer :-) I watered and watered and after waiting several weeks, even months, nothing happened. Weeds began to grow, but no veggies.
A friend who knew a little about growing a garden came over and asked me why I put the garden in a place with such little exposure to sunlight (Oops). He also asked if I had ever gotten my soil tested. Nope. (I hadn't even heard of the idea.) He recommended I test a soil sample to discover if bad soil was the problem, not to mention the lack of sunlight.
After the test came back, I discovered my soil was incapable of producing any sort of crop, with or without the right light. The soil was so loaded with sand and clay that unless I spent a bunch of time and money on treating it regularly, it would never produce 'fruit'.
Bad soil and lack of sunlight was a major problem. But technically, that wasn't the real problem. The real problem was that my 'seeds' could not 'germinate'. Or, in other words, they were unable to 'die' in the ground and transform themselves into the plant I wanted them to become.
In order for a zucchini seed to grow into a zucchini plant, it certainly needs the right environment such as correct soil, oxygen, sunlight and moisture, but the reason it needs these conditions is so it can properly 'die' in order to bear 'fruit'.
In our text , John 12:20-26, John mirrors some of the words of Jesus which also appear in the synoptic gospels. If you read Matthew 16:24-26, Mark 8:34-38 and Luke 9:23-26, you'll see a consistent theme of 'dying to one's self'. However, one thing that John includes that the others do not is verse 24:
[John 12:24 NASB] 24 "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.
This sums up the whole matter. For Jesus, He is referring to His own death at the cross and the fruit it will produce. Particularly that of reaching the Greeks or Gentiles, or in other words, all of the world. This passage is actually an answer to the question from the Greeks who are seeking to 'see' Jesus. Jesus' responds by telling them, and anyone listening, the way to follow Him is the way of the cross. Death at the cross - for Jesus and for us, is the way to serve God.
In this sermon we will see why and how this is the case. Most importantly, we will see why we must go to the cross in our own life, and like Jesus, produce much fruit! Please read ahead. Including the parallel passages I mentioned before.
If you're wondering what happened to my 'homestead' phase... it came to a rushing halt. And I was pretty glad. I didn't really enjoy it. What I did enjoy was going to the market, instantly grabbing all the fresh veggies I needed and conveniently sticking them in the fridge. :-)
Waiting for seeds to die and produce fruit is too long of a process for me. For Jesus, it's all part of His patient plan for your life. May your only and final phase in life be that of the cross, laying your life down for the One who gave His life for you!
Listen to this sermon on John 12:20-26 below
