Brokenness - The Principle

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.” John 12:24-25

Rub some seed corn between your fingers and instantly you will be struck by its hardness. You can step on it, throw it, or try to crush it and the seed will remain intact in most instances. Amazingly, an abundant source of life is stored within this rigid outer husk. The potential for thousands of kernels is bound up in one tiny seed corn.

As any farmer or gardener knows, prolific life is released only when the corn is buried several inches beneath the turned soil. There it lies in darkness and seeming oblivion for many days. The rains come, and the seed waits. The sun shines, and the seed waits.

Then one day the waiting is over. A small green shoot thrusts the earth. In the months to come, the plant will grow, tassel, and produce ample food for man and beast. The joy of harvest would never be realized apart from the breaking of the seed’s protective shell.

There is a corresponding spiritual process at work in the Christian. It is brokenness - the principle by which God gloriously works to liberate us for abundant living. It is a hard way, but it is God’s way to blessing, joy, and abundant life. 

“...in faithfulness You have afflicted me.” Psalm 119:75