You may think this is a strange phrase to write since everyone reading this is alive! Hopefully, it will be one of those thought-provoking phrases that will cause you to read on and meditate on what is to follow. Though the phrase “You Can’t Live Until You Die” seems strange, hang on, and it will become clear.
I grew up on a farm, and every year, we would save seeds from the harvest so that we could produce the same vegetables the next year. Those seeds were lifeless and dried out by the next spring, appearing to have no value at all. However, when a seed was planted in the earth, watered, and fertilized, it would sprout and grow until it had reproduced itself hundreds of times over.
Jesus uses this as an illustration in John 12:24. He is talking about His own death, which is about to occur. The only way that we could gain eternal life was for Him to die. This same principle applies to our own lives. True living is living in Christ. Those who love this life and seek to gain all they can here will one day lose it for all eternity. Verse 25 makes that clear.
John 12:24-25 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it dies, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.”
To live a full and rich life, there must be a time of dying to self. Before the grain of wheat can flourish, grow, and reproduce, it must die. Paul also reminds us in I Corinthians 15:31b that to live a victorious Christian life, we must die daily. Dying to self takes a conscious effort. We are geared toward self-preservation; dying to self is not something that comes easily or automatically. It is also a task we face every day.
Dying to self means surrender. When the grain of wheat falls to the ground, it surrenders to the earth. In verse 25, we are told to hate life in this world. It does not mean we are to hate our life literally. That would contradict our feeling of gratitude for all God has done for us. What it does mean is that our love for our Savior and of the life to come should starkly compare with how we feel about our earthly life. Our love for Him and our future should be the opposite of our love for this life. Dying to self and having an overwhelming desire for Heaven may be challenging, but it will lead to a glorious victory.
When we look at the glorious life to come, the one Jesus has gone back to prepare for us, it makes the preparation for eternity so much easier. Living this life as a dead person becomes glorious because of who we die to. When we die to self, verse 24 says we bear much fruit. The following 3 verses teach us that we are keeping our lives for all eternity, we will be joining Jesus where he is in glory, and the Father will honor us. When we grasp hold of those truths, the glory turns the hardness of this life into an incredibly significant life.
John 12:26-28 “If any man serves me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serves me, him will my Father honor. Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”
