Out of Death

Out of Death

“Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies,

it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”

                                               John 12:24

Seeing the praying mantis that I had observed in the church planter all summer long lying on the pavement Tuesday, lifeless with its stomach many times the size it had been, was a sad ending to what had been a good day. With a “just in case” thought, I picked it up and place it on a branch, watched for a few seconds hoping to see movement, and then moved on to other things. Wednesday saw the lifeless praying mantis right where I had placed it but last night was quite another story; it was nowhere to be found. As I watered the plant and looked to see if I could find it, a young, lively, newborn praying mantis came climbing up the branch, ready to take on whoever was disturbing its home. And as I shook my head in wonder, I could only think: out of death comes life!

We know the principle from our faith: Christ died that we might live. Because He gave His life on the cross, we can experience abundant life now and eternal life forever. The scripture above brings out the point so perfectly; the seed that dies and the life that dies produce much fruit. Out of death comes life. As I have meditated on the young, only a day old praying mantis, I thought of the many ways that life springs forth from death, a realization that can truly be life changing.

Paul said in his letter to the Corinthians “I die daily”. We too experience dying on a daily basis, sometimes to attitudes that have to be crucified, at other times to personal desires and habits that don’t line up with God’s will for our lives, and still others to simple things we want to do that we die to for the sake of meeting the needs of others. If only it were a one time “death”, it might be easier but, as Paul said, it is a daily experience of dying to self with the incredible result that out of death comes life. We die and yet find ourselves refreshed; we die but feel satisfied at the good fruit that results in another’s life; we die to something yet we end up freer than we have ever felt.

We can see it in nature, the seeds sown in our garden died and decomposed before producing a harvest of peas, tomatoes, cucumbers and eggplants. And we see it in the simple example of an insect like the praying mantis. My sadness Tuesday at the lifeless praying mantis lying helpless on the cement was quickly replaced by total awe at the new life that had sprung forth. Life, in all its facets, is an amazing thing to behold. Jesus thought that our experiencing new life was worth dying for. And let me encourage you that all God is calling you to die to will be worth it, in your own life and in the lives of others. A simple truth – out of death comes life!

God Bless
Pastor Joe

Gateway Church