A mighty splash broke the silence of my prayer walk. It was followed by frantic squawking and flapping as an alligator nabbed its breakfast of fresh heron. I felt sorry for the heron until I realized that if the gator had missed, I would need to feel sorry for him. It’s a fact that all life comes from life, and that in order for any of us to live, something must die. I lose sight of that truth because the first time I see my food, it has been wrapped in cellophane and displayed on the grocer’s shelf.
We think of ourselves as far advanced from the ancient pagans who offered sacrifices of animals and even people in hopes that their gods would bless them with fertility; but perhaps they better understood that their life was dependent on the death of another.
In my prayer walk, God reminded me that “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) All life comes from Him, and without Him there could be no life. I was also reminded that when Jesus said, “This is my body, which is given for you” (Luke 22:19), He meant it. There is no life unless I eat His body.
Jesus compared himself to a vine and called us the branches. He said, “As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.” (John 15:4) He also compared himself to a grain of wheat when he said, “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 12:24)
The origin of all life is God. The sustenance of life is His death. The hope of life is His resurrection.