Unless a grain of wheat falls………Unless a grain of wheat falls
John 12:24”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.
He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”
Lord! Help me expound this scripture! May your children be blessed through your Word! The above scripture is too profound that I want you to get the full divine essence of it, without a cogent explanation of the subject, you might miss it. For years I had gone to church on Palm Sunday, waved the palm branches which the church gave us and brought it home without grasping an iota of the love of God behind it. I want none of you to miss it today!
Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem to be crucified and here we see people waving palm branches and praising Him; however, nothing deters Him from His focus on the cross. He looks at the people and said, ‘unless the wheat falls into the ground and dies there would be no multiplication.’ Palm Sunday is all about Jesus jubilantly at the same time firmly walking towards Jerusalem to be crucified. Amen. As I read these words of Christ and much more about the cross, where Jesus does not mince words about suffering for His sake, it sure energizes me to get stronger and sturdier for Him. Jesus said:
Luke 9:23 "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”
Luke talks about the emotions of Jesus more explicitly in Luke 9:51"Now it came to pass that when the time came for him to be received up that he steadfastly set his face to go towards Jerusalem." Observe the words steadfastly! What was His agenda in Jerusalem? To be crucified! His focus was on the cross!
All of the years of waiting, learning, practicing, suffering reproach, working, praying, fasting have not gone in vain in my life, someone out there is getting blessed. I definitely cannot comfort someone out there, if I had not gone through the path myself! Recently a dear lady came looking for me, hunted for the place and walked into my school to just hug me tight and weep, she said, ‘I find your devotions very comforting.’ God is taking the raw material of our suffering and is refining it in the life of others.
Well, no matter what the struggle in your life, let us learn to be firm and determined in our life like Jesus!
Pastor Florescu couldn’t bear to watch his son being beaten by the Communist officers. He had already been beaten himself, and he had not slept for two weeks for fear of being attacked by the starving rats the communist had forced into his prison cell. The Romanian police wanted Florescu to give up other members of his underground church so that they too could be captured. Seeing that the beatings and torture weren’t working, the communists brought in Florescu’s son, Alexander, only fourteen years old, and began to beat the boy. While Florescu watched, they hammered his son’s body unmercifully, telling the pastor that they would beat his son to death unless he told them the locations of other believers. Finally, half mad, Florescu screamed for them to stop. “Alexander, I must say what they want!” he called out to his son. “I can’t bear your beatings anymore.” His body bruised, blood running from his nose and mouth, Alexander looked at his father in the eye. “Father, don’t do me the injustice of having a traitor as a parent. Stand strong! If they kill me, I will die with the word `Jesus’ on my lips.”
The boy’s courage enraged the guards, and they beat him to death as his father watched. Not only did he hold on to his faith, he helped his father do the same.
Stand firm for Jesus! Have a blessed Palm Sunday!
