"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." -- John 12:24-25

For quite some time I had a small robin's egg on my office shelf. It was abandoned and lifeless when I found it. The eggshell looked cute, but while it remained intact it failed to bring forth life. So it set on my shelf as a specimen.

As Jesus noted, when we choose to live to ourselves, unwilling to give up our protective shell, we can never bring life into the world. When we are willing to lose our lives for the sake of the gospel, there will be significant fruit. We will no longer be a specimen.

Are you satisfied with your protective shell my friend? Will you live out your life on a small shelf somewhere just being seen but never producing fruit? Don't live your life as a specimen, be significant for Jesus.