When Jehovah turned again the captivity of Zion,
We were like those who dream….
Turn again, O Jehovah, our captivity,
Like the streams in the south.
Those who sow in tears
Will reap with a ringing shout.
— Psalm 126:1, 4-6
Everyone who has the realization that, as Christians, they need to bury themselves and die will experience tears. Why? Because we have nothing left. There is nothing for us to do but go and die. When we sow ourselves, when we bury ourselves, then we are truly sowing in tears.
This is fully in the context of the church life. Sowing in tears is the only way for the “dream” that we initially enjoyed to become reality. For the church to be built up, for the Lord’s testimony to be raised up, for God to gain His habitation, for there to be a group of people who bear His name, there is no other way. We must go, sow ourselves into the ground, and die. We must go and bury ourselves. When we realize this, tears come. We know that we are finished. There is no more hope for us. There is no more future for us. All we can do is sow ourselves into the ground and be buried there.
Before we come to this realization we may still make our own choices. For example, a young brother may decide for himself what college he will go to. He might think, “It depends on which department I get into, which one gives me a bigger scholarship, and which one is farther away from home.” But if this brother were to ask the Lord where he should go, the Lord would say, “There is only one college for you to attend: ‘death university.’ Dear young brother, you must learn to sow yourself. That is your only future. Which university should you go to? You should choose the university that is the best for sowing yourself into the ground for the sake of My testimony.”
Adapted from The Journey of Life, page 64.
Tomorrow: “No More Choices”