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Humble Hero
For a moment He heard voices proclaiming in all parts of the
earth, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the
world!”
John 1:29
. In these strangers He saw the pledge of a great
harvest. He expressed His anticipation of this, the fulfillment of His
hopes, in His words, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should
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be glorified.” But He never forgot the way in which this glorification
must take place. The world could be saved only by His death. Like
a grain of wheat, the Son of man must be put into the ground and
die, and be buried out of sight; but He was to live again.
“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into
the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much
grain.” When the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it
springs up and bears fruit. Likewise the death of Christ would result
in fruit for the kingdom of God. In accordance with the law of the
vegetable kingdom, life was to be the result of His death.
Year by year, the farmer preserves his supply of grain by ap-
parently throwing away the best 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 grain in the ear.
The seed buried in the ground produces fruit, and in turn this
is planted. In this way the harvest is multiplied. So the death of
Christ on the cross will bear fruit for eternal life. Contemplating this
sacrifice will be the glory of those who live through eternal ages as
the fruit of it.
Christ could save Himself from death if He chose. But if He
were to do this, He must “remain alone.” Only by falling into the
ground to die could He become the seed for that huge harvest—the
great multitude redeemed to God.
Everyone should learn this lesson of self-sacrifice: “He who
loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will
keep it for eternal life.” The life must be thrown into the furrow of
the world’s need. Self-love, selfinterest, must die. And the law of
selfsacrifice is the law of self-preservation. To give is to live. The
life that will be preserved is the life that is freely given in service to
God and others.
The life spent on self is like the grain that is eaten. There is no
increase. We may gather all we can; we may live, think, and plan