“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” (John 12:24,25)
God’s aim for our life is much deeper and broader than we think. We suppose He’s after this or that sin we’ve been holding on to; and if we’re willing to give it up, He’ll be satisfied. So, we prune the tree of our life, here and there; but the root of self-determination largely remains in place.
Sinners never come to true repentance when they sacrifice a few vices on the altar of God; but remain otherwise in control of their life. Saints never discover true worship when their submission to God is selective and sporadic.
We can fool men, but we can’t fool God. We can look pious, but God knows when we’re not letting Him lay the axe to the root of the tree. If Jesus is not Lord of all; He is not Lord at all. He is unwilling to accept our terms of surrender. It cannot be: “Lord, I’ll do anything but that.”
If we are to find the life in God that He has in store for us we cannot hold anything back. We cannot cling to any treasure we have on earth. We cannot seek to save our pet sin, our pride, or any “room” in our house we designate as off limits to God. The fullness of the life God has for us can only blossom when the seed of our life falls into the ground and dies. We, and all we have clung to, must finally come down. A new structure is erected when the old has been demolished.
When we finally “let go and let God,” and experience the glory and the beauty of what He had in store for us, we wonder why it took us so long to lose our life. Don’t be a stubborn fool. Give it all up – sooner, rather than later.