Good morning…
If I am a grain of wheat, I wrestle with John 12:24. Jesus says, “Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over.”
You see, I like being a grain of wheat, secured by my stalk, swaying in the breeze. Passive. Pristine. Perfectly intact. Suddenly the winds whip wildly; life swirls, life twirls, life whirls me. Dislodged, I fall to the ground, buried in dirt. Timid. Trampled. Trapped out-of-sight. As the rains come down, I plump up. Soggy. Swollen. Saturated silently. My gorgeous gold fades as my intactness wears thin. “I’m dying,” I whimper, “this is the end. Never again will I be a single seed.”
Damp. Dark. Discomfort descends. Oddly out of my shriveled old self, two strange shoots emerge. One deepens down, the other stretches up. Empowered by a Force deep inside and way beyond, my roots push my shoots up-up-up through the soil. Surrounded by sun I somehow sense, “I am no longer a grain of wheat, I am a reproducing part of God’s harvest for the hungry.”
If we listen carefully, what might we learn from this one single seed?
Expect discomfort.
Befriend dark silence.
Embrace transformation.
Surrender your intactness.
Trust Christ’s truth: “What feels like the end is really the beginning.”
Now in verse fifteen, the story becomes quite personal. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you’ll have it forever, real and eternal (MSG).
…Sue…
P.S. If you would like to tangibly help feed the hungry in our Atlanta community here are two opportunities:
- I recently received this email from Amy Olvey, Director of Community Engagement for Action Ministries (4025 Welcome All Road, Suite 160 East Point, Ga. 30349). “Good Evening – I have added additional dates & times to the meal packing opportunity, please glance over the information to see if you are able to support! We are ramping up and getting ready to distribute some of the packs to other distribution centers this week! The lunch program has begun, so things are progressing nicely – we just want to ensure that we have enough packs built out at the center for the program! You all are amazing, thank you so much for giving your time to this program – we appreciate each and every one of you more than you know. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0E4EA9AD29A5F94-community Please share the link with family & friends!”
- Kyle McWhirter, a very passionate young mom from Northside Church, also wrote me recently: “Hey Sue!! I have absolutely loved your devotionals every morning. Thank you for your words. Would you mind also sharing this sign up genius for packing lunches for Action Ministries? You make them at home and deliver…https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/prepare-womenscommunitykitchenThank you!!”
