Daily Devotional Inspirations — Analysis

[OBW]

DECEMBER 3
WRECKING BUT LOVING

A seasoned saint was asked by a despairing Christian, "Doesn't the world look to you like a wreck?" "Yes," was the cheerful and confident reply, "like the wreck of a bursting seed." Any of us who have watched the first sprouting of an oak tree from the heart of a decaying acorn will understand what this means. Before the acorn can bring forth the oak it must become a wreck, No plant ever came from any but a wrecked seed.

Our Lord uses this fact to teach us the meaning of His processes with us, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone; but if it die, it brings forth much fruit" (John 12:24).

The explanation of the apparent wreckage of the world at large or of our own personal lives in particular is here set forth. Looked at in this light, we can understand how it is that the Lord can be good yet permit the existence of sorrow and wrong in the world He has created and in the lives of the human beings He loves,

It is God's very goodness that compels Him to permit sorrow and wrong. He knows that only through such apparent wreckage can His glorious purposes for us be brought to pass. And we whose hearts also long for that fruition, will, if we understand His ways, be able to praise Him for all His goodness even when things seem their hardest and most mysterious.

Yes, the world is a wreck. But it is not described as the “wreck of a bursting seed” in John 12:24. The world is a wreck because of the decay of the fall. It is currently ruled by the curse of the fall, both physically and in the nature of mankind.

Jesus’ used the metaphor of the seed falling into the earth, dying, and then sprouting up like a stalk of wheat that had many seeds, which is like a tree with strong branches, leaves, and ultimately even more seeds to grow more trees (not the example actually used). HWS correctly says this metaphor was to describe His process. But was it his process for going through death and resurrection so that his life could result in more grains of wheat that are infused with his life, or is he describing a process whereby the world will be “wrecked” and cause people to turn to him? I think the former and not the latter.

If there is anything positive to be said about the wreck that is the world, it is that it will drive some to seek for a better hope, and will cause the wayward Christian to return to the Father’s house where there is plenty.

If the “wreck of the world” is to be used as a new metaphor, it would not be to tie to Jesus’ words about the one grain of wheat bearing much fruit, but to the declaration that God uses all things for good to those who are in Christ Jesus.

As in at least one other of these devotionals, the issue isn’t that the lesson brought from an example or verse doesn’t have some validity, but that it is not being tied to a verse that is actually giving that lesson. And until we find the right verse(s), we cannot be sure that the lesson is actually of the scripture or simply good and spiritual sounding but with no support. In this case, I cannot see how the wreck that is the world links to the grain of wheat. For the Christian, it does tie to the working together of all things for our good. And to the unbeliever, while not necessarily found as a specific statement of scripture (I haven’t found it — doesn’t mean it’s not there) it is a reasonable understanding of the kinds of things that cause people to seek. Yet to simply call it positive and be cheerful about it is to potentially be callous about the plight of those around us who also need our God-commanded love — not just in gospel tracts and conversations turned to the gospel — but to get through days, weeks, months, and even lifetimes of hardship.