In the Outer Court
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with the law of the vegetable kingdom, life was to be the result of His
death.
Those who till the soil have the illustration ever before them. Year
by year man preserves his supply of grain by apparently throwing
away the choicest part. For a time it must be hidden under the furrow,
to be watched over by the Lord. Then appears the blade, then the ear,
and then the corn in the ear. But this development cannot take place
unless the grain is buried out of sight, hidden, and to all appearance,
lost.
The seed buried in the ground produces fruit, and in turn this is
planted. Thus the harvest is multiplied. So the death of Christ on the
cross of Calvary will bear fruit unto eternal life. The contemplation of
this sacrifice will be the glory of those who, as the fruit of it, will live
through the eternal ages.
The grain of wheat that preserves its own life can produce no fruit.
It abides alone. Christ could, if He chose, save Himself from death.
But should He do this, He must abide alone. He could bring no sons
and daughters to God. Only by yielding up His life could He impart
life to humanity. Only by falling into the ground to die could He
become the seed of that vast harvest,—the great multitude that out of
every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, are redeemed to
God.
With this truth Christ connects the lesson of self-sacrifice that all
should learn: “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth
his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” All who would
bring forth fruit as workers together with Christ must first fall into the
ground and die. The life must be cast into the furrow of the world’s
need. Self-love, self-interest, must perish. And the law of self-sacrifice
is the law of self-preservation. The husbandman preserves his grain
by casting it away. So in human life. To give is to live. The life that
will be preserved is the life that is freely given in service to God and
man. Those who for Christ’s sake sacrifice their life in this world will
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keep it unto life eternal.
The life spent on self is like the grain that is eaten. It disappears,
but there is no increase. A man may gather all he can for self; he may
live and think and plan for self; but his life passes away, and he has
nothing. The law of self-serving is the law of self-destruction.