Fall Down and Die

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. Whoever loves this life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. (John 12:24, 25 ESV)

This illustration used by Jesus has two meanings. The first meaning describes where he came from and what he's about to do.

A grain of wheat can be stored for years where it won't be of much use. But when it falls into the ground and dies as a seed, it is reborn as a plant that produces fruit. The fruit is the part of the plant that has more seeds which can produce even more fruit after that.

As a figure of speech, we can say Jesus "fell" to earth from heaven with the purpose of dying to produce fruit. In his death and resurrection, he would be saving all those who would come to a lasting faith in him. These believers who are gathered into the kingdom are the "fruits" that he will have produced. As they share the Gospel with others, they as well, will help the Lord gather in even more fruit.

The second meaning of Jesus' illustration is that a Christian must learn to die to himself in order to bear fruit. "Whoever loves this life" describes the person who lives for the pleasures of this world. He invests himself in enjoying what this life has to offer, and when it's over, he loses it. And because this describes the person who lives unto himself without regard for the God who created him, he will suffer everlasting torment.

"Whoever hates his life in this world" describes those who, as believers, recognize that their purpose in this world is to serve God and make disciples, gathering fruit for the Kingdom. Such a person learns to die to himself in this world, not living with the purpose of pleasing himself, but with the purpose of obeying God. This does not mean one should walk about somberly declaring, "I hate my life!" It does mean that his focus is on the life to come, and trying to persuade others to receive the salvation of Jesus so they can have eternal life as well.