#messyhope

John 12:20-33

Death. Others. Ours.

In this passage Jesus talks about His death. He first tells the disciples that it is time for time for the Son of God to be glorified. He uses the illustration that a seed, a grain of wheat, must die in the ground before it can produce any fruit. Death must come before more life. And then He tells them, and us, that He must die because that is why He has come. His death is for our benefit. His death draws all people, even us, to him!

When we are young, we don’t often think about death; I didn’t anyway. When I was maybe 6 or so I attended a funeral in a Methodist Church in Mosquero, NM. All I remember is a bee buzzing me. Then in high school, a couple of classmates died, and in college a friend was killed by a train. The first death that did affect me was a cousin of my husband’s. Steve was my age, 25 or 26 and death became real.

Then as we grow older, and those close to us pass on, death becomes more real. A person is here today, gone tomorrow. A hole in our life appears. Life goes on but differently. I was with both my parents as they died, when each took the last breath. Now, 10 years later, I still want to pick up the phone to call them.

We begin to think about our own demise too. If we know Jesus, we are confident we will see Him and live eternally. Evenso, we still ask, “What is death like?” “Will it hurt?” “Will it be messy?” “Is there hope?”

Life is messy. Death is messy; sickness, blood, vehicle accidents, cancer, all things that cause death involve messiness. Even one who dies peacefully, in their sleep, leaves some untidiness behind for us to handle. Jesus asks us to think about his death because it is hope, our hope! His messy death brings hope to us.

Prayer: LORD, Jesus, we thank you for the hope you have brought us. Thank you for your willingness to die a messy death for our benefit. Now help us be willing to lose our life, even our physical life if necessary, that YOU may be glorified in it.

Donna is a wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandma. Married 50 years, she and Dale have lived in several states and in Europe, but now call Oklahoma home. Donna enjoys reading, especially cozy mysteries, and spending time with family.