by Ralph I. Tilley
“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.”
--John 12:24 (NASB)
As lovely as it may be to the eyes,
A lone grain is worthless unless it dies;
But if it falls hidden into the ground,
From death eventually it will abound.
To save my Self is but to lose my life—
Self-sovereignty is a kingdom of grief.
But to lose my Self is to gain with God,
And to take the path that Jesus trod.
Our Lord led the way by the death He died:
Surrendered fully, He was crucified.
What seemed that day to be a tragic loss,
Was in fact total triumph through the Cross.
If I am to live life to the fullest,
Wanting to see an abundant harvest—
Like Him I must fall like a grain of wheat
Into the ground before the Mercy Seat.
Renouncing my prideful, self-centered way,
In full surrender I sign my life away.
Entrusting to Him my past and future—
I rise from the ground in the Spirit’s pow’r.
