Jesus did not see things the way I saw them. For him, up was down and down was up. If you read what he said in John 12:23 you would think that something tremendous was about to happen to him.
“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”He was about to be glorified, exalted, honored. How? That is the strange part. He was going to be arrested, humiliated, brutalized and then crucified. That was Jesus' definition of "glorified".
Just in case there is any doubt about his meaning, Jesus clarified in the following verses.
“I assure you: Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains by itself. But if it dies, it produces a large crop. The one who loves his life will lose it, and the one who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me."This is the irony of kingdom greatness and kingdom success which Jesus made so much of. His path to glory was not through conquest, but by laying down his life for others. He was glorified because he died for the sins of the world. And that is our path to kingdom significance as well. We must lay down our lives for the Father and for others in Jesus' name. It is by giving our lives in service to others that we plant seed that produces a true spiritual harvest. Those who live for self waste their lives. Only those who invest in God's kingdom by serving others in his name find true success and signficance.
Father, my life is yours, take it for your glory and the service of your kingdom. As it was with Jesus, so may it be in me.
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