Death Before Life

I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Tuesday morning, the 25th of April, 2023, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. 

We start in the Gospel of John 12:24, Jesus said: 

“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.”

“For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory,…”
Hebrews 2:10

Jesus went through a lot of suffering to bring many sons to glory, and you and I too must be prepared, through much suffering, to bring people to salvation. It's a very expensive thing to follow after the Lord. I remember years ago, having a Mighty Men Conference on this very farm, and it was called, ”Dying to Live”. If you want to live, you have got to die. What does that mean? That's a real paradox, isn’t it? It means if you want to have eternal life, you must be prepared to die to your own self's desires.  

You know, as a farmer, you take that seed and it is treated with insecticide so no insects can damage the seed. If you put it in a special room, where the temperature is controlled, that seed can remain in that room for years but nothing will happen. It is only when you take the seed and put it into beautiful damp soil that has been properly prepared, that it will germinate and grow into a beautiful crop. The seed must die for new growth to take place. Many years ago, in 1927, a young missionary by the name of Jim Elliott, went into the Amazon Jungle to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Auca Indians. They eventually killed him, but before he died he wrote in his journal, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Jim Elliott gave his life. The world said, “What a waste. He was a wonderful student, he was a champion wrestler, whatever he did he succeeded in, what a waste!” But do you know something? Through his death, thousands of students all over the world went into the mission field and preached the Gospel to the lost.

Today, spend yourself on behalf of another soul and the Lord Jesus Christ will honour you.  

Have a wonderful day,
Jesus bless you and goodbye.