A Devotional Thought from John 12:20–26
20 And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast: 21 The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. 22 Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus. 23 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. 24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. 25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. 26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
John 12:20–26
One day a little boy had a great revelation while playing in his grandmother’s bedroom. The little fella’s grandmother had a picture of Jesus hanging behind her bed and a mirror on the other side of the room. He called his grandmother to come in and see his discovery. “Grandma, look at this”, he said, “When I lay down and get out of the way I can see the face of Jesus, but when I stand up and look in the mirror, I can’t see Jesus anymore. I can only see myself”. I believe the little boy was beginning to understand the lesson that our Lord was trying to teach in our reading.
Some Greeks approached Andrew begging for a chance to meet Jesus. They said, “Sir, we would see Jesus.” Perhaps they had heard that Andrew was known to introduce people to the Lord because every time he is mentioned in the Gospels apart from a few lists, Andrew was bringing someone to Jesus. I would love to be known for that too, wouldn’t you? Our Lord gave those present a lesson that applied both to himself, to them and to all of us. He taught that a seed must be planted and die in order for a harvest to come. Of course, we know that was true of himself. He would die, be planted in burial but raised to conquer death and give eternal life to all that trust in him. In this passage he also explained the secret to how we can truly see the Lord in our lives.
John 12:25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal
The self centered person will have a hard time seeing Jesus as they stare into their mirror. It is only the person who dies to his or her self that truly sees the Lord. A Joy filled, meaningful life is a slippery thing to catch. Chase it and it will elude you, focus on serving Christ and you will find it.
Self sacrifice, according to Jesus, is the secret to self fulfillment.
It is our Lord that taught us that it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). We must continue to remind ourselves of that little boy’s discovery, we can’t see Jesus when we allow ourselves to get into the way.
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