Give up who you are to become who you can be

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Heaven”

Our Bible verse for today: “Truly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains by itself. But if it dies, it produces much fruit.” John 12:24 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Give up who you are to become who you can be”

So, to continue our thinking from yesterday, how do we go from what we are to what we will one day be? How do these old corrupted aging physical bodies of ours morph from this, into that glorious resurrection body the Bible promises? It’s a process, similar to that of a caterpillar in a cocoon going through the process of metamorphosis and emerging as a beautiful butterfly.

In John 12:24 Jesus was describing, first and foremost, His own life and what was about to happen to Him. His physical body was going to die, go into the grave, and come out infused with new life (resurrection life). Then as the resurrected Christ, He would gather to Himself billions upon billions of followers who would spread out across the world and across the ages building the kingdom of God.

Jesus likened Himself to a kernel of wheat. If the kernel remains in the head of the stalk, it remains only that, a single kernel of wheat. But if it goes into the ground and dies, it becomes the source of new life for innumerable new stalks of grain which then go on to reproduce in like manner. Jesus then ascended to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father, but all those who have life through Him continue to reproduce spiritually, and the kingdom of God grows and grows. But it all happened because of a death and a rebirth. Jesus gave up what He was in order to become what He could be – what He was meant to be, the resurrected Christ.

The analogy doesn’t fit perfectly for us, but the general principle does apply – we have to give up what we are so we can become what we can be. It’s a process and it begins with dying to ourselves and surrendering fully to Christ. That results in a new spiritual birth that then leads to many things – including a life of service now; some period of time spent in the intermediate heaven; and it culminates in eternity with a new resurrection body. But it all begins with the dying to self and surrendering to Jesus. The old self has to die so there can be a new birth.

Have you done that? Your old self is dead in sin anyway. Let it go. Give your heart to Jesus and there will be a new birth; there will be new life – a resurrection in your heart. If you haven’t taken that step already, I encourage you to do so now because you have to give up who you are in order to become who you can be.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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