Focus: The Principle Of Death

Text: Jh.12:24

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit."

In God's scheme of things nothing negative is absolute or final. Death is not final; life is. As a matter of principle God has designed it that death will make way for a new life. Resurrection is simply life emerging from the place of death, and as Frederick Nietsche has said, "where the graves are, is the resurrection." That is to say that resurrection is not possible where death has not occurred.

Death has become, by God's doing, the secret of a new life and of a new start. Jesus Christ says, "Verily, verily…" That is like making a statement under oath. It means that what He's about to say is absolutely sure and solid, and can be taken to the bank. Of course, every word Christ spoke could be relied upon, and even more so, this very word made with eternal verity, utmost certainty and absolute validity. As a matter of fact, the Greek word for 'verily' is 'amen,' which goes back to the Hebrew word, 'aman' - the word for 'trust.' Interestingly, the words for 'faith' and 'truth' are connected. Faith is built on the bedrock of divine truth. No one can afford to build his whole life or faith on lies. Faith is safe in the hands of truth. Truth is the foundation and source of faith. So when Jesus Christ uses the word verily, it means amen or truly, and you know that truth is sacred. God's truth is verifiable, and it produces evidential faith. The Lord Jesus Christ was making a truthful or solemn statement or declaration, and it can't be faulted.

Then He goes on to say that except a corn of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it will remain as it is - single, but if it dies, it will bring forth fruits. God infused the seed with the capacity to reproduce itself when sown, and in the process of the seed disintegrating, new life emerges that ensures a larger harvest or fruitfulness. There is life in a seed, but the seed has to die before its life can manifest. New life springs from the place of death. The Lord Jesus Christ says, "He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must SUFFER many things and… be KILLED and AFTER three days RISE AGAIN" (Mk.8:31). He had to die to resurrect. It is a kind of movement - from life to death and from death back to life again. Death makes way for life to spring forth.

Making sacrifices for success to be achieved or for someone to be helped is a form of death. Inconveniencing yourself for greater good is a form of death. Struggling and suffering today for future joy, that in itself is a kind of death. We see sportsmen exercising and disciplining their bodies and taxing their minds to achieve success in the sporting world. That is a form of death. Life requires paying certain prices to achieve certain goals, and that is a form of death. Paul declares, "I die daily."

Loving, giving and forgiving means dying to self. You can't truly love until you have died to self, because selfish love is fake love. Dying on the cross was God's demonstration of love. The Scripture says, "For God so LOVED the world, that he GAVE his ONLY begotten Son…" (Jh.3:16). The Father gave His only Son to the death of the cross for the salvation of mankind. For that singular sacrifice, He has many millions of sons all over the world today.

You cannot get anywhere in life or rise to any heights in the world without first dying. You must step out of your comfort zone to actualize the incredible.

No price, no prize. Nothing just happens and something cannot stand on nothing. Convenience and comfortability are enemies of success in any field of human existence. There is nothing like succeeding conveniently or comfortably. It is said that if you cannot stand the heat, then get out of the kitchen. The war front is not for the weakling or the coward. The Scripture says, "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death" (Rev.12:11). They loved not their lives unto the death. That is the principle of death. The seed must go into the ground and die, and then new life emerges and harvest expected. Paul says, "And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?" (1Cor.15:30). It is said of Christ that "for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame…" (Heb.12:2). The cross comes before the crown. It is said of Zebulun and Naphtali that they were "a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field" (Judg.5:18). There is no place in this world where you can find easy life. Easy life is a lie. 

Good intention is good, but intention without action and determination is not good enough.

Finally, Christ says to us, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me" (Lk.9:23). We live to die, but die to live. The principle of death is indeed the principle of life. Death is not the end; life truly is. Embrace the way of the cross and you will surely arrive at the doorway of resurrection.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter