The Kernel John 12:20-33
Delivered to Smith Chapel UMC on March 29, 2009
What I Didn't Say
Wheat--When I was a kid, I hated wheat bread. Now that I'm old, I really appreciate it. I like the extra texture, the taste, and of course the fiber. Hey...don't laugh.
Wheat has been around a long time. We see it mentioned in the Bible quite a bit. It was a major staple then, and frankly is still a major staple. We mess it up of course. We bleach it out. We boil it down. We process it to death. There is something to be said for whole foods.
I didn't care about any of that when I was younger. All I cared about was taste. If it tasted good, I was happy. That worked okay until I hit thirty. After thirty, I started to get a little paunch.
When I was in high school and college, I probably weighed 140 pounds. I'll never see that again, because when I crossed the forty year plateau, the paunch started to get a tad more serious. Before too long, I was pushing 185.
It was all because I was into the pleasure of eating and relaxing. Lots of good food...and very little exercise. In short, no discipline. No dying to self...just slowly dying...
Jesus used the kernel of wheat to remind us that we need to die to ourselves to bear fruit. My weight was a constant reminder that I wasn't into dying...I wasn't into sacrifice...I wasn't into discipline. Jesus kept calling, however.
My weight (at the time I write this) is down to 155. I finally decided to live a little more disciplined life. It feels good. I know from experience that dying to myself in a spiritual way fells pretty good as well. We are created to be disciplined enough to grow fruit. It would behoove us to submit ourselves to that task.
