The Autumn Leaves Have Gottcha Thinkin’: Life in Dying

A kaleidoscope of previously-hidden pigments bursts from our veins. Violets and russets erupt. Golds give way to fiery orange, then crimson. And, for a brief moment, you pause. You stare as we dangle from our delicate petioles, twirling with the faintest breath of wind. You ponder our falling from lofty perches to gather in gutters or blanket forest floors. Day after day we are beaten up and broken down. We decompose, breaking down to release nutrients into the soil and ultimately create a better environment for more of our kind. We see life in dying. 

I am the infinite and invisible God who became a finite and visible Seed. I left the loftiness of heaven and lived over thirty years buried alive in the soils of earth. Day after day I was beaten and broken; I died continually until the time came for my sacrifice. People stared as I dangled, crimson-covered, on that branch. They watched as the immortal Seed submitted to the laws of mortality. And it was just as I said: “’I must fall and die like a kernel of wheat that falls into the furrows of the earth. Unless I die I will be alone—a single seed.’” Then, I was entombed, a seed covered by clods of impervious clay. Days later I broke open and the embryo within me burst forth, pushing up through the compacted soil. You see, my life on earth culminated in a death that defeated Sin and Death, enriched the soil with the Father’s love, and produced more of my own kind—”’many new wheat kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives.’” (John 12.24,32) I see life in dying.

I am one of the seeds produced after his own kind. I am also buried alive in the hostile soils of earth. Evil and suffering press down on me, breaking open my sinful flesh to expose my weaknesses. Though painful, the pressures cause the embryo within me to sprout and strengthen. I begin to stand for truth though it’s unpopular, share love though it’s uncomfortable, and show grace though it’s uncommon. As I suffer, feeling beaten up and broken down, a kaleidoscope of God’s character blazes from within me. I start to grasp a vital truth: God allows death in my living so that he may show life in my dying. As my sinful flesh dies, life within me thrives and I can help make a better environment for other seeds made after his own kind.  (2 Cor 4.7-12) I see life in dying.