LEARNING DAILY

John 12:25-26, “He who hates His life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let Him follow me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves me, him My Father will honor.”  Jesus

In the last page of the blog, Jesus said that the grain of wheat or seed need to die in order to bear fruit. The truth of this means that the seed needed to be planted to become what it was meant to be or produce. This is a reference to each person losing their worldliness in order to gain eternity. Obviously, this does not refer to one’s physical death but refers to the willingness to sacrifice everything to follow Jesus Christ. In the verses above, Jesus continues to explain what He means about the seed planted in the ground, dying to produce fruit.

Do you, as a Believer, realize you were intended for something greater than to go through a daily routine of existing (for lack of a better word). Take a moment to find 1 Corinthians 15:35-38; it is a good place in this blog to read it. I will expand on it in the next page of the blog. Jesus is telling His followers that walking the narrow way with Him is about their priorities and motives, their state of mind; hating one’s life in the world is not about wealth or poverty, things or not having things. Walking with Jesus is about one’s emphasis on obedience to the will of God. What one holds on to indicates where their love is centered.

In order to walk the narrow way a person must “die to self” in order to live eternally in the kingdom of God. BibleRef.com states this “is not about salvation, it is about one’s sincerity. One who wants to earnestly submit to God will want to put Him at the very top of their priorities”. Dying to self is part of the process of salvation; when one accepts Jesus Christ as their Savior, that person is “born-again”. One becomes a new creation. The old life has passed away and a new life has begun. But understand that dying to self is a daily experience and part of a lifelong process called sanctification. Jesus made this clear when He said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24). To deny oneself, I believe that means anything that would prevent us from following and being obedient to Him.

Jesus went on to say that those not willing to deny self would result in losing their lives in the kingdom. Luke wrote that those who did not bear His cross and follow Him could not be His disciple (Luke 14:27). That is a pretty serious statement. Dying to self does not mean we become inactive or lack sensitivity to what is happening around us or even feeling dead. It means Believers put their old way of life behind them. It means Believers stop acting like they once did; they stop talking like they once did. The old sinful ways and lifestyles are no longer lived for.

Dying to self is not an option for a true follower of Jesus Christ! This is a lifelong process that happens with the help of the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised His disciples He would not leave them alone; He would send the Holy Spirit to guide, help, empower them in doing His will. His promise to them is His promise to all Believers. Giving up the old self is difficult because it wants its position in your life, and it does not give up easily. But “He that is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). That is an amazing promise. It does not matter what opposition comes against you or how great the old self wants its position, you have a greater power that helps you, strengthens you and assures you that there is victory in Jesus Christ. Know that the Holy Spirit is constantly working to conform you to the image of Christ, so you become who you were created to be.