12.2 - Life as a Puzzle Without the Box Top

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Life is like putting together a puzzle without the picture on the box. You spread out the pieces on the table, and while a few connect easily, the bigger picture remains hidden. We see bits, corners, colors — but rarely the whole.

Sometimes, if you’re contemplative, you pause long enough to imagine what the finished picture might look like. You hold the pieces gently, turning them this way and that. Prayer and meditation become the act of trusting that the puzzle will one day come together — not perfectly, but faithfully.

That’s where we meet Jesus in John 12. The festival crowds have gathered in Jerusalem, and some Greeks approach Philip, asking, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” A simple request, really. But with that one sentence, new puzzle pieces slid onto the table. Jesus could see the picture shifting, the next edges forming. His “hour” had arrived.

What Did It Mean to Be Glorified?

We read Jesus’ words — “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” — with centuries of church tradition echoing in our ears. But what did those words sound like to people in the first century?

Historian John Dominic Crossan suggests we pay attention to the matrix — the cultural context in which words were first spoken. Without it, we risk reading scripture like a Rorschach test, projecting our modern thoughts onto ancient inkblots.

Rome glorified Caesar with coins and temples. Jesus redefined glory altogether.

And the matrix of Jesus’ world was dominated by Rome. Consider this: in 44 B.C., a blazing comet appeared during the funeral games of Julius Caesar. Romans saw it as Caesar’s soul ascending to the heavens. His heir, Augustus, used this event to declare Caesar a god — which made Augustus the “son of a god.” Coins bore Caesar’s star, temples enshrined his image, and the propaganda machine of empire spread the story across the world: Caesar was glorified.

So when Jesus spoke of being glorified, people would have heard an echo of Rome’s propaganda. But Jesus was about to turn the idea inside out.

The Grain of Wheat

Jesus continued: “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain. But if it dies, it bears much fruit.”

Only when a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies… it bears much fruit.

Rome glorified through power, violence, and victory. Jesus spoke of seeds falling into soil — hidden, surrendered, broken open. And yet, in that hiddenness, life multiplies.

It’s a paradox we resist: letting go brings more life than holding on.

Modern neuroscience affirms this. Gratitude and generosity activate neural pathways of joy, while hoarding and self-protection keep us stuck in fear. Abraham Maslow, late in life, called this self-transcendence — fulfillment found beyond the self.

“Those who have a ‘why’ to live, can bear almost any ‘how.’” – Viktor Frankl

Love Life / Lose Life

Jesus pressed further:

“Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”

The word hate jars us. But Jesus isn’t calling us to despise life. He’s naming a tension: survival mode versus spiritual consciousness. Clutching, defending, competing versus serving, sharing, yielding.

Think of it in ordinary terms:

• If we love food but ignore health, life narrows.

• If we love security but ignore generosity, life shrinks.

• But if we learn to release and yield — life expands.

👉 To my grandchildren and their children, remember this: joy doesn’t come from holding on tighter. It comes from opening your hands.

“True belonging doesn’t require you to change who you are; it requires you to be who you are.” – Brené Brown

Peace Through Justice

Jesus lived under Rome’s “peace through victory.” Crosses lined the roadsides as warnings. Caesar’s Pax Romana was peace enforced by fear.

But Jesus envisioned peace through justice. Centuries earlier, Micah had written:

“What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God?”

Justice (mishpat in Hebrew) means fairness and equity. Peace is not the silence of oppression but the harmony of restored relationships.

Social research echoes this: thriving communities are built on fairness. Tyranny enforces quiet; only justice produces peace.

Following = Serving

Jesus then said: “Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also.”

Notice the shift: he doesn’t ask for mere belief, but apprenticeship. Dallas Willard once wrote,

“The greatest issue facing the world today… is whether those who are identified as Christians will become apprentices of Jesus Christ.” – Dallas Willard

Faith is less about reciting creeds and more about walking a path. Apprenticeship means humility, justice, and surrender.

Seeds and Legacy

Let’s return to the seed image. A seed that remains on the shelf never fulfills its purpose. It must fall into soil, break open, and in “dying” give birth to life.

That’s legacy. A tree that bears no fruit dies with itself. But a tree that bears fruit multiplies through its seeds. Life lives on in others.

👉 To my grandchildren and their children, don’t fear the little deaths — letting go of pride, surrendering selfishness, yielding to love. Each surrender plants seeds that will outlive you.

The Puzzle Picture Comes Together

So what does all this mean for us, staring at the scattered pieces of our own puzzles?

It means that though we rarely see the finished picture, we can trust the process:

• Every act of justice is a piece.

• Every surrender of self for the sake of love is a piece.

• Every moment of faithful service is a piece.

We may not see the whole until the end. But we are not piecing this puzzle alone.

Coming Full Circle

Among the festival crowds, the Greeks said: ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’

The Greeks once said: “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” That longing is still alive. To see him is to glimpse the box top of the puzzle — the picture of seeds, fruit, justice, and love.

Piece by piece, the image emerges. Not Rome’s vision of power, but Jesus’ vision of abundance. And one day, when the final piece is set, we will see clearly what we once trusted only in fragments: a life that bore much fruit.

🌱 Key Takeaways

• ✅ Connection: The Greeks’ request — “We wish to see Jesus” — reminds us that belonging is a universal hunger.

• ✅ Acceptance: Jesus redefined glory not through power but through humility; God honors us as we are, not as the world defines us.

• ✅ Purpose: A seed must fall to rise — letting go of self makes room for fruit that multiplies.

• ✅ Connection + Purpose: Peace doesn’t come through domination but through justice — relationships made right.

• ✅ Legacy: Our lives are puzzles in progress; every act of love and justice is a piece that outlives us.