Following Jesus
5 min read
23 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.”
John 12:23-26
I was listening to a radio spot from Max Lucado this morning. He was sharing about how the Holy Spirit speaks to us through a “verse” and a “voice.” He said that the Bible speaks into any situation we might face in our lives, and then as we pray for clarity, the Holy Spirit will bring a voice into our lives, whether through a dream or some timely advice.
There is no doubt that Max Lucado is right. I have experienced a “verse” and a “voice” many times in my own life. God cares about our well-being and wants to lead us to “green pastures” and “still waters.” That is absolutely true.
But because of sin, pretty much all of us are inclined to interpret God’s care for us in the the wrong way—in the most self-absorbed way. The truth of the matter is that “green pastures” and “still waters” are only found where Jesus Christ, our Shepherd, leads us—if we would only follow Him.
I heard Jesus’s voice loud and clear a long time ago, when I had a dream where I was floating in blackest space, and all that I could see were these two huge, bright words wherever I looked: “FOLLOW ME.”
Jesus is speaking on multiple levels through His parable of the dying seed. Jesus most definitely does not demand that we all follow Him to martyrdom. On the one hand, a select few are called to follow Jesus to martyrdom. Most of the time, though, martyrs are called to give their lives in the name of Christ due to the circumstances they find themselves in.
In other words, no normal person pursues martyrdom. Even Jesus did whatever He could to avoid going to the cross in the Garden of Gethsemane. But once a believer realizes that death in the name of Jesus is inevitable, the Holy Spirit gives them the strength and courage to glorify His name.
But for the vast majority of people, “losing our lives” does not mean literal death. Rather, “losing our lives” means to not confuse God’s care with self-absorption. “Hating our lives” means to recognize that the “green pastures” and “still waters” that we so desperately desire and that Jesus wants to lead us to are only found when we follow Jesus—not when we follow our own self-absorbed desires. “Loving our lives” is only possible when following Jesus is our greatest value.
That truth is not difficult for us to understand. We experience it whenever our values shift. Our values shift when we enter college, get a new job, start dating, get married, have kids. And even if our values don’t change at first, the circumstances of our lives will adjust our values sooner or later, simply out of necessity.
That is what Jesus is saying. Or rather, He’s asking, “Where (Who) is your necessity?”
One other point that this passage has taught me has to do with the fact that Jesus started going down this line of teaching when some Greeks wanted to meet Jesus (verse 20). Over and over again, we can’t seem to escape the truth that Jesus wants us to follow Him to take His soul redeeming death and resurrection to the ends of the earth.
Father, You have saved me from myself that I might follow You. But I confess that so often, I find myself following myself. Give me eyes to see and ears to hear so that I might follow after my Lord alone. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
