Die to Self

 

The little bluebonnet in our front garden (see my post of November 14, 2022) finally succumbed to the 10 degree weather we had this winter. It produced seeds after it bloomed last year and they have now sprouted, giving us a profusion of bluebonnet blooms in the front flower bed.

 

The little bluebonnet was persistent, hanging in there through the heat of summer and the first freezes of winter. Its persistence was rewarded this spring with new blooms that far surpassed what it was able to do last year.

 

Jesus said, “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. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life…..My Father will honor the one who serves me” (Jn 12:24,26).

 

Paul wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal 2:20). We have been freed from the slavery of our sinful nature by the sacrificial death of Jesus. We now can live by the Spirit. This sanctification is not a one-time event; rather, it is a process where we can continue to grow each day.

 

As we begin this Easter season, let’s make it our goal to continue to grow closer to Jesus through His Spirit and put aside the ways of the flesh, that we may live more for the kingdom and produce more fruit.