More Passion and Purity quotes:
"Life requires countless 'little' deaths--occasions when we are given the chance to say no to self and yes to God. [...] Little deaths have to be died just as great ones do. Every reminder [...has] to be offered up. There is a big however . It is this: We are not meant to die merely in order to be dead. God could not want that for the creatures to whom He has given the breath of life. We die in order to live . A seed falls into the dark earth and dies. Out of its death comes multiplied life. [...] It takes faith to believe this. [...] It takes faith to live by it, faith to act on it, faith to keep looking at the joyful end of it all. A failure of faith here leads certainly to resentment and then to depression. The destruction will go on and on.
'Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit" (John 12:24). [...] I asked God to water it, there in its darkness, and transform the dead thing into fruit. What fruit will He bring forth? If only it could be that from so small a seed He might create the fruits of the Spirit in me, even just the beginning of learning of them: love, joy, peace, [patience], gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, [and self-control.'" [End quote]
Thoughts : I really like the picture of a seed dying and being buried. When we die to ourselves and relinquish our pride, God begins to work one way or another. I pray that He would at least grow the fruits of the Spirit in me.
I love this example that Elisabeth Elliot paraphrases:
"To those with ears to hear and eyes to see, there will be very great release from the unbearable burdens in the language of autumn trees, for example, when they dress most gloriously in preparation for death. The red of the leaves is the sign of the cross. Winter follows, when snow closes everything in frozen silence. The trees then are skeletons, but wonders are being performed under the surface of things. Spring comes, and the hidden wonders burst out all at once--tiny shoots, swelling buds, touches of green and red where all seemed hopeless the day before. [...] If the leaves had not been let go to fall and wither, if the tree had not consented to be a skeleton for many months, there would be no new life, no bud, no flower, no fruit, no seed, no new generation."
Thoughts : I love this illustration! It also reminds me of another one I've heard regarding pruning and the fact that a bush or tree needs to be pruned in order to grow better and healthier. As mentioned in another quote in an earlier post, it may not make sense as to why God causes our "petals" or "leaves" to fall off and die, but we can be confident that He will bring new growth and fruit in the future. Praise God for that!
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