Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, 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. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their 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 12:23-26)

John 12:20-33

The Bible is full of phrases that seem to contradict themselves. We are told that we see unseen things, conquer by yielding, reign by serving, are exalted by humility, and become wise by being fools, for Christ's sake.

Another stark contradiction is found in our scripture reading for today: We live by dying. The kernel of wheat needs to die to produce many new seeds, and certain things in our lives need to die for us to experience abundant life in Christ.

I could give you a list of things that could be causing you to pull away from Christ, but only we know what is preventing us from drawing near to God. It could be hatred, unforgiveness, busyness, fear—the list is endless.

We each have our struggles. Until we are serious about letting these parts of ourselves die, we will always struggle to experience new seeds of love, joy, peace, etc.

What do I need to ‘die to’ today? 

Reflections by Rev Joe Taylor

Lord God, 
I acknowledge that there are things in my life that are keeping me from drawing near to you. Help me put these things to death so they can blossom into new seeds, and I can experience a new, abundant life in a relationship with you. 
Amen.

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