In order to live something has to die…

I know, it sounds so circle of Life(ish), Morbid.

-Disney’s Lion King Theme Song Playing in the back ground.

-Disney understands this concept very well, that in order to live something has to die.

-Let’s ask Bambi’s mom… Oh wait! We can’t. Because in order to live something has to die. You get it.

-I remember watching the all time classic Bambi as a child and I remember my mother trying to explain to me why Bambi’s mom had to die. My childhood was traumatized from that moment on. My childhood was ruined.

Not to mention Charlotte’s Web, the perspective of a spider named Charllotte and a prize pig named Wilbur who is concerned with his fate. Charlotte tells Wilbur that she will come up with a plan guaranteed to spare his life, because she understood that in order to live something has to die.

There is an invisible law that says, In order to live something has to die.

All living things need to feed to get energy to grow, move and reproduce. But what do these living things feed on? Smaller insects feed on green plants, and bigger animals feed on smaller ones and so on. This feeding relationship in an ecosystem is called a food chain.

Food chains are usually in a sequence, with an arrow used to show the flow of energy. In order for something to live something has to die.
In vegetation this principle applies… Think about different ecosystems -An ecosystem includes all of the living things (plants, animals and
organisms) in any given area, interacting with each other, and also with their non-living environments (weather, earth, sun, soil, climate, atmosphere).

http://www.eschooltoday.com credit for content.

In an ecosystem, each organism has its’ own niche, or role to play.
Consider a small puddle at the back of your home. In it, you may find all sorts of living things, from microorganisms, to insects and plants. These may depend on non-living things like water, sunlight, turbulence in the puddle, temperature, atmospheric pressure and even nutrients in the water for life.

By feeding on plants and on one another, animals play an important role in the movement of matter and energy through the system. They also influence the quantity of plant and microbial biomass present. By
breaking down dead organic matter, decomposers release carbon back to the atmosphere and facilitate nutrient cycling by converting nutrients stored in dead biomass back to a form that can be readily used by plants and other microbes.

The (5) Basic Needs Of Living Things
Sunlight, Water, Air, Food, A habitat with the right temperature.

Every living organism on earth needs some basic things to survive. The amount, way, form or kind of these needs vary from organism to
organism.

For example, water is a basic need for survival. The amount of water a frog needs to survive is not the same as the amount of water a desert cactus plant needs to survive. They all need water, but because they are different living organisms, their water needs will be different, even though they both need water to live.

So now, I think we can all agree… It’s really hard to live when you take into consideration everything else that’s trying to survive. There is an unimaginable amount of effort that goes in to this in order to live something has to die principle.

At the very beginning of 2016, let’s direct this concept to the area of personal growth, let’s walk down a spiritual path, understanding the concept, that in order for the things of God to be brought to birth, to live, to grow and thrive, there are some things that MUST DIE!! 

Personal growth, as I see it, is really about identity change. If you want
to do things better, you must become someone who DOES things better, the results will only be temporary if there isn’t a change on an identity level.

Change does not come from thinking old thoughts as well as thinking new thoughts on top of them; we do not have the time of the day to start thinking double the thoughts. We must drop the old thoughts completely, to make room for the new. Stop wasting time, energy and focus.

Some part of you must die for a new part to live.
If we want to grow and go to the next level, there must be identity level change; be it as a conscious process or an unconscious one. Identity level change means a new way of thinking, doing and experiencing; and for this to happen, the old ways must be completely left behind. Leave the old ways in 2015.

Romans 8:13 KJV [13] For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

The old self must be left out to die for the new self to live. “Death and
rebirth” mentioned in the bible, there is no way to move on to the “next level” while clinging desperately to the old one.

When we really think about it, we spend so much of our time on things of low importance. When we realize that our time is limited and quickly running out, a sense of urgency overtakes us, and we make changes. Our new perspective changes our attitude and our actions. Jesus says in Matthew 10:39, “He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.

The word “life” in this passage (Matthew 10:39) is used evidently in two senses. The meaning may be expressed this way: He that is anxious to save his “temporal” life, or his comfort and security here, shall lose “eternal” life. . . . He that is willing to risk or lose his comfort and “life” here for my sake, shall find “life” everlasting, or shall be saved.

This scripture is one of six similar scriptures scattered through all four gospels (Matthew 16:25; Mark 8:35, Luke 9:24; 17:33; John 12:25).

Jesus attaches a double meaning to the word “life”: a lower, physical, and temporal meaning and a higher, spiritual, eternal meaning. Christ warns us that we must make an entire sacrifice of the lower for the higher. For if we do not completely and wholeheartedly surrender the lower for the higher, we will lose both. “When we learn how to die, we learn how to live.” Indeed, to learn how to die physically is to learn how to live spiritually.

-We can ask the Apostle Paul Romans 6:6

The apostle Paul informs us in Romans 6:6 that, when we were submerged in the waters of baptism, “our old man was crucified with [Christ], that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” Once this has occurred, “just as Christ was raised from the dead, even so we also should walk in newness of life” In order to live, something has to die.

Matthew 16:24-25 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

Like Jesus, we must deny ourselves.
Put Satan into this picture. What is he going to do to us? Through
disinformation and affecting our attitudes, he will lead us toward self- satisfaction, not self-denial, because self-satisfaction is the essence of sin. When we sin, we bring upon ourselves the death penalty.

To teach the right lesson, Jesus immediately taught—to counteract what Satan was subtly teaching through Peter—that the way to the Kingdom of God is through self-denial, not self-satisfaction. Satan will try to persuade us not to deny ourselves but to fulfill ourselves at the expense of others.

Another thing this can teach us is that great temptations can come
through well-meaning friends. Peter meant well. It must have shocked him right out of his sandals when Jesus turned and said, “Get behind Me, Satan!” right in Peter’s face. Jesus was probably not angry, just urgent, so that Peter would grasp what had happened.

Surely, God would not want us to face this kind of a trial, would He? Yes, it could happen if the temptation comes through well-meaning people. We are particularly vulnerable when we can be led to believe that we are not being treated as we deserve.

Satan used this major ploy against Adam and Eve: “Oh, has God said so? He’s withholding from you.” Such was his implication. “Why, if you do things the way you want, you can have much more. You can be god.” We always want more; it is part of human nature.

Unfortunately, there are some that keep making things worse by making the same general mistakes over and over again in each generation. It will not end until each individual decides he will not do it regardless of the cost to himself. This is denying oneself.

Some things in life are beyond our control, and we must leave them to God, He knows why, and that’s good enough for me, I trust him. We must do our part in 2016 understanding that, in order for something to live, something has to die.