---

The people were full of expectation of the temporal kingdom of the Messiah. Therefore our Lord lays down the principles on which His kingdom shall come. It is spiritual, but conforms to the law which says, No power comes into this world, or attains its end, but on the condition of suffering: only in death can life be achieved.

I. ILLUSTRATIONS OF THIS LAW. When we distinguish between the laws of Christian and the laws of ordinary life, we make a false distinction. The former are but the highest spiritual expression of the conditions which underlie and rule all nature.

1. Our Lord takes us to the lower side of life — that of physical nature.

2. So it is with every beautiful and joyous thing that exists. Not a little child's laughter makes home ring with gladness but it has found its life in the trembling agony that has gone before.

3. Take life on its commercial side. The spirit of enterprise does not mean the hugging of your savings, but reinvesting them. A man wins wealth by his readiness and wisdom in fulfilling the law of sacrifice.

4. It is true also in the world of intellect. The power of genius and talent largely consists in the power of self-denial and industry. It is only when a man puts his whole will into the subject he is studying, denying himself pleasure, enduring physical pain and hardship, patiently proving the certainties of his discoveries, that he stands at last amongst his fellows as one who has something to teach.

5. So in all noble and high enterprise. Columbus has his dream, but he must first incur the ridicule and indifference of those who plume themselves on being the wise men of the day.

6. It is true in regard to social life. The same law has its illustration in the case, e.g., of Israel. Their position at first was that of a mere assemblage of tribes with individual preferences, needs, etc., surrounded by the determined hostility of the nations of Canaan. The duty of tribal suffering was the condition of the nation's unity. The Song of Deborah teaches this. That was in its youth; but. Solomon taught that the same principle was at work. "There is that scattereth and yet increaseth," etc. The real wealth of the nation depends on the people's willingness to sacrifice themselves. When the spirit of selfishness came into the land it was easy for the prophets to predict its doom.

II. WHAT DO WE OWE TO CHRIST IN CONNECTION WITH THIS PRINCIPLE? Christ did for it that which makes it capable of operating throughout the whole length and breadth of human life.

1. Christ unfolded to the intellect and brought into the consciousness of life this law. This is His claim to originality. No man can claim originality in inventing new laws. Sir Isaac Newton only brought into human thought the law of gravity, which bad existed ever since the stars were made. The truest benefactor is not he that brings novelties, but who makes us acquainted with the laws which underlie our national existence.

2. But intellectual perception is not enough. Example is the potent agent of action, and therefore Christ brought the law home to the will. You teach a law by an example because you thus stir up the principles of admiration and emulation. Christ is no mere demonstrator; He stood to the yoke of the very laws He had made. He passes by all temptations to selfishness leading a life of self-consecration from Bethlehem to Calvary. And what is the harvest? His power is the kingdom which is the measure of the world's empire today. Where is the power of Egypt and Assyria, the wisdom and genius of Greece? These, founded on mere selfishness, have passed away. But every land has worshippers of Him who died on the cross.

3. The work must be carried yet further. A man may clearly perceive a thing and most earnestly resolve it. You may gain his intellect and will, but you have not won the man until you have got hold of the affections. It is love which illuminates the actions and understanding, and lifts men's lives into courses which make the whole life obedient to them. Christ was not only the educator and the embodiment of the law; behind both there was the inspiration of His love. And so "we love Him because He first loved us."

(Bp. Boyd Carpenter.)

---

---

KJV: Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

WEB: Most certainly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit.