Release

Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you'll have it forever, real and eternal.
~ John 12:24-25 (The Message)

I love this version of a verse that I've heard time and time again. In the NIV translation the last part reads, "The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." How often have you been told this or heard a sermon preached on this and then moved on with your day knowing that there's a challenge inherent in these words but unsure of what that really means? I know I've been guilty of that thought process more than once.

This version made me think again though. It speaks to me of letting go of what I think my life should look like right now, releasing the hopes and dreams and wishes that I carry through my days on this earth. It's the concept of allowing my plans to be put to death so that God can use them in much more powerful ways than I can imagine.

I can hold so tightly to things that I can see. I become fearful of letting go, fearful of taking a chance, fearful of the risk. That fear can be one of my greatest failures and I regularly need to be prodded and pushed into jumping off the cliffs. I don't know what God can do with this life but I know that if I keep holding on to it as it is today, I'll end up with just smashed fragments of what could have become a beautiful story if I let Him do the sowing.

I want to live recklessly in God's love. Now I just have to let go and leap!