Blessed Good Friday

https://odb.org/2025/04/17/life-and-death-in-christ

John 12:23–26 (NIV): 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 honour the one who serves me.

The illustration of a seed used by Jesus is apt as the dying of the seed results in the birth of the plant, which eventually becomes a tree with lots of leaves and fruits. It is from the seeds in the fruits that this process is repeated and the species of that plant is perpetuated. This is how nature works. That is how God has created nature to work.

In the spiritual context, the death of Christ on the cross led us to have eternal life, that anyone who loves their life will lose it, while those who hate their life will keep it for eternal life. Meaning to say we need to prioritise our spiritual life while on earth so that we gain it in eternal life. Even as we may struggle living here on earth with the bills to pay, the scarcity of income, as we live a thrifty life to make ends meet and save up for a rainy day, we must never let our spiritual life take a backseat. One day, we will leave this earth in our physical form and transcend into the spiritual realm, and what we have done for our spiritual life will count for our eternal life.

One way taught by Paul was for us to let our old self die and let our new self in Christ live and be victorious. If we dwell deeper into the seed, the seed never actually died. Because a dead seed will not be able to produce life. The seed transforms into another form and becomes a plant that sprouts flowers, leaves, and fruits. The illustration given by Christ is thus correct. It is the transformation of the seed that gives life. As much as we crucify our old self, it still lives on to haunt us. That is why we need to transform our old self to become our new self in Christ. If Christ just died on the cross, He would not have defeated the devil and would not have overcome sin and death. Instead, He rose again after 3 days, proving that through Him, the sting of death over sin is no more. His death and resurrection are the keys to eternal life. His resurrected body is the glorified body we look forward to one day, so we may dwell again with God and Christ in Eden recreated. That is our hope of glory.

Blessed Good Friday, everyone! If you have the chance to go to church today, remember and honour Christ for His sacrifice on the cross of Calvary, for dying for our sins that we may be reconciled with God. We look forward to Resurrection Sunday to honour and commensurate His victory over sin and death! He is risen! Indeed He is alive even today! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!