”Whoever
serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be.”
( John 12:26 NIV )
( John 12:26 NIV )
Devotion:
We sometimes say that we truly want to serve God, but we’re not sure of how to do so. Jesus Himself says that it’s a matter of following Him. In the verses preceding today’s reading (John 12:24-25) Jesus foretells His death. He spoke of Himself as the wheat kernel that must fall to the ground and die in order to give life to many. He also taught those who listened, that if they wanted eternal life, they too must lay down their lives in this world, in the same way as Jesus would do. There exists a cross to bear,a wheat kernel to sow, in the life of those persons who want to follow Jesus. Nature’s law also applies in this case. ”What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.” (I Cor. 15:36-38) The cross, that ”difficulty” we must avoid may seem meaningless, like a naked wheat kernel; nothing worth keeping. It might be a habit that we don’t want to give up, it can be a relationship that isn’t healthy for us, or an object we own that causes us to turn away from God. If God has said that He wants us to ”sow” it, to stand apart, avoid it, that He wants it buried in the earth to die, we must obey, because He has plans to make the result something significant. And it’s only the one who follows His example that truly serves Him.
We sometimes say that we truly want to serve God, but we’re not sure of how to do so. Jesus Himself says that it’s a matter of following Him. In the verses preceding today’s reading (John 12:24-25) Jesus foretells His death. He spoke of Himself as the wheat kernel that must fall to the ground and die in order to give life to many. He also taught those who listened, that if they wanted eternal life, they too must lay down their lives in this world, in the same way as Jesus would do. There exists a cross to bear,a wheat kernel to sow, in the life of those persons who want to follow Jesus. Nature’s law also applies in this case. ”What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.” (I Cor. 15:36-38) The cross, that ”difficulty” we must avoid may seem meaningless, like a naked wheat kernel; nothing worth keeping. It might be a habit that we don’t want to give up, it can be a relationship that isn’t healthy for us, or an object we own that causes us to turn away from God. If God has said that He wants us to ”sow” it, to stand apart, avoid it, that He wants it buried in the earth to die, we must obey, because He has plans to make the result something significant. And it’s only the one who follows His example that truly serves Him.
Jesus show me today how I should follow you, because I want to be Your servant. If there is something in my life I must deny, or avoid, something that must ”die”, help me to act immediately, in order that I can live close to You - in Your presence.
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