A Fruitful Life in Christ

John 12:23-26

A Fruitful Life in Christ

     And Jesus answered them saying, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it; and he who hates his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall My servant also be; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.”

     Submit your life to Jesus. This is the meaning of these verses. Submit yourself to His leadership and become His servant. Jesus’ word about a seed dying and going into the ground is a wonderful picture. The seed that one grain of wheat is able to produce is remarkable. One seed turns into many. Jesus has called us to submit our lives to Him in all things so that we might become like that fruitful seed.

     Search your heart right now and ask yourself the question, “Have I ever told the Lord to do whatever He wants with my life, send me anywhere, train me to do anything, and really meant it with no reservations in my heart?” God brings each of us to this point in our lives but have you ever said, “Here I am Lord, use me whenever and wherever You want,” and had nothing in your heart that held you back? That reservation is the death that Jesus is talking about. If you love some part of your life, you cannot cross this line. Your heart simply cannot cross it for it has a barrier and will not let go of the world. This is the point where we have to let go and hate this life compared to the eternal life that Jesus has for us if we let go. “He who loves his life will lose it (Die eternally).” “.He who hates his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal (Live eternally).”

     “If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall My servant also be; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor Him.” This is the crossing point for us where our lives will begin to bear eternal fruit in the lives of others. And Jesus promises us that not only will we be with Him in Heaven, but that our Heavenly Father will honor us as well. Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him (God), for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

     I want to encourage all of you to spend some earnest time in prayer seeking God. I want to encourage you to ask Him for help in letting go of all those things that keep you from truly giving all of your heart to Him. We need to be able to say, “Lord, whatever You want me to do and wherever You want me to go, I am Yours.” This is the path of all who call themselves after Jesus name. To be a Christian is to be a disciple of Christ and in Him is great eternal reward. So seek Him until all barriers come down between you, and you can say with your whole heart, Jesus I am Yours.

     God bless you all and may you bear much eternal fruit today through Christ Jesus our Lord!