In Pursuit of Jesusናሙና

Shattering Hope

Poppy seeds pop. Apple cores crash to the ground. Corn kernels crack. In nature, the very act of reproduction requires a seed to shed its hull and shatter its container. In her classic book, The Measure of My Days, playwright and author Florida Scott-Maxwell observes, “Life does not accommodate you, it shatters you. It’s meant to, and it couldn’t do it better. Every seed destroys its container or else there would be no fruition.”

The playwright’s observation reminds me of Jesus’ words as He approached His death in John 12. Sharing that the hour had come “for the Son of Man to enter into his glory” (v. 23), Jesus offered a kind of shattering hope to his listeners. “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels” (v. 24). His death would bring about life for many. Jesus erases any doubt by prefacing His point with the phrase, “I tell you the truth.” 

God offers this shattering hope to us today, nudging us toward growth. Jesus goes on, “Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity” (v. 25). —Elisa Morgan

We all face sufferings, disappointments and losses. How might God bring about new life in us through the daily “deaths” we encounter? 

Dear Lord, may I embrace the shattering hope You offer in my days, that I might see You reproduce more of You and Your desires in my life.