“I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone [just one grain, never more]. But if it dies, it produces much grain and yields a harvest.” (John 12:24 The Amplified Bible)
An old brown book that I picked up for décor purposes, decades ago, has been moved from room to room over the years, largely because of its brownish color and how it matched a design scheme I was putting together. The book is entitled, “The Brothers Karamazov,” and was written by Fyodor Dostoevsky, translated from the Russian by Constance Garnett.
It was moving time for the old brown book again. It was needed in my home office. As I moved the book to its new space, “the study,” or just call it the room where I prepare and perform God’s work that He has assigned me to do, I decided to open this old book that I have owned for many years. To my surprise, after the dedication page and right before a two -page introduction, there was one page, nearly blank, with the exception of the Bible verse used above. I assume that this was purposely done to communicate a message, intended to stand out in is its isolation near the start of the first chapter and far from the seven hundred and twenty-nine pages that were to follow.
This verse from John’s Gospel was followed by these words from the author, “In the beginning…” I continued to read part one, called “Book One.” Retreating back to my old days of reading required schoolwork assignments, I started scanning through the book, quickly I might add, trying to make a connection between the Bible verse and the story that would follow. My reading discipline dissipated, impatiently I turned to the end of the book, and I found these words, uttered at a funeral setting for the hero in the story, “Ah, children, ah dear friends, don’t be afraid of life! How good life is when one does something for good and just.” In close proximity to these words was a statement, “Certainly we shall rise again, certainly we shall see each other and shall tell each other with joy and gladness all that has happened.”
Right or wrong, it does not matter to me, but I connected the opening verse, and the words of the introduction, “In the beginning,” with the final comments shared in the last sentence of the paragraph above. Maybe it is just my God-consciousness, something I try to instill in all readers daily, but whatever it was, it caused me to make the connection from this literary work, written by an author I never heard of before, with life as a believer. Internalizing and applying what I had read, even just skimming through, I thought about “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” And then, after thinking about the Creator, I turned my attention to the words about producing much grain and yielding a harvest and I pondered on dying to self and rising up to live a good life that would have a positive impact on the growth of God’s kingdom on earth. I went on to think more about living a good life, good and just, for the Lord, without fear of what lies ahead. I was motivated to keep on in this life, serving the Lord to the best of my ability, with the assurance, finding agreement with the words of the author, “Certainly we shall rise again” and we will be surrounded by joy and gladness. There is joy in that land where we are bound.
The final summary of our lives and what we have accomplished will be spoken of in the future, when we realize there truly is a time for everything. Therefore, let us commit, as long as we have time, while we are still in the land of the living, on our way to a place where life never ends; let us commit to living a good life to please the One who was in the beginning. You might view this as mere rambling, but I hope it is more, reaching and touching your heart. I hope it moves you to serve others, produce a harvest, and to stay on the battlefield, living your abundant life to the extent that someone else wants what you have. Be an influence to ignite faith in someone this Friday! Do God’s will! Be blessed!
“Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. But I’m not worried about that now. I just want to do God’s will.” (Quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)
Mark L. King