今天我們開始思想聖經其中一個最深刻的真理──在生命之先必有死亡。我們不難找出很多經文來證明這點，不過今天的經文已經足夠了。那次序是不會錯的──只有當一粒麥子死在地土裡，它才能夠產生更多子粒來。沒有死亡便沒有生命，就是這麼簡單。明白這一點是非常重要的，我甚至覺得，那些還沒有掌握這觀念的基督徒，是很容易在屬靈的道路上迷失。

好些年前，一名機師在非洲一個小鎮外把飛機撞在田原上。調查人員嘗試找出撞機的原因。他們推測機師以為自己正在目的地降落，但實際上那只是一個名字相似的小鎮，兩個名字的拼寫只相差一個字母。由於這位機師計劃降落的地方比他實際著陸的地方要低一千呎，調查人員估計，他是相信自己還有一千呎才到達地面，所以才會撞機身亡。意外發生的原因是，他使用了錯誤的地圖。

如果我們對「在生命之先必有死亡」這觀念，有錯誤的「思想地圖」，我們可能迷路，結果就會帶來屬靈的傷亡。如果我們要活，要真正地活，我們就必須願意向所有的私慾死，意思是我們願意放下所有個人的慾望。所謂一失足成千古恨，走錯了一步，可能會浪費了我們的一生。

Today we begin to examine one of the most profound truths in the Bible - the principle that life is always preceded by death. It is not difficult to bring together a host of corroborative Scriptures to prove this point, but let the one that is before us suffice for now. The order is unmistakable - it is only when a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies that it produces more seeds. No death, no life - it is as simple as that. Understanding this issue is so important that I would go as far as to say that Christians who don't grasp the concept can easily lose their way spiritually.

Some years ago I read of a pilot whose plane crashed in a field outside a small town in Africa. Investigators looking for the cause of the crash surmised that the pilot thought he was landing at his intended destination when in fact he was approaching a town with a similar name. The difference in spelling was a matter of just one letter. His planned destination was a thousand feet lower than where he actually landed, and he was killed (so it is thought) because he believed he had a thousand feet more than was actually the case. He worked from the wrong map.

If we have the wrong "mental map" of the issue that is before us - that life is preceded by death - then we can miss our way and end up as a spiritual casualty. If we are to live - really live - then we must be willing to die to all self-interest. A missed step here may mean a miss-spent life.