Those who love their life, lose it. And those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
John 12:25
WOW!!!!! This is such a powerful scripture, and it could be taken the wrong way so easily. This is the section of John that Jesus is predicting his death. He is with his disciples at a feast where some Greeks were attending and asked Philip if they could see Jesus. Jesus replies with predicting his death and explaining how a grain of wheat needs to be planted so it can produce many seeds. Look at how many lives have been produced because of the death of Jesus.
Can you imagine how anyone would have felt then, wanting to see Jesus, and then hearing that same person predicting his death? I have always wondered how I would have reacted had I lived then. I would like to think I would have been a follower of Jesus, but I really think I would have been way too scared to follow that crowd. I don't like to admit it, but I probably would have been one of the in-crowd followers too scared to step out on faith and go against the grain.
We as Christians and human beings with free will, too many times want to know the reason why something has happened, especially when it is something that we perceive as a bad thing. Our nature is to want a reason or someone to blame; however, we need to have patience because God always turns our "bad" situations into a good thing for us, and it is a growing experience and we can always learn something when we look back.
One of my favorite poems is Footprints in the Sand, and when I look back at my life I can see the many times there were only one set of footprints in the sand of my life. So, I have learned to love this life of mine with fervor for I am excited to see what is in God's plan for me and the day that I will be with Jesus, God and all of my loved ones that are there waiting for me to join the big banquet table.
Jeanie (Zseltvay) LesCallett
