Adrenaline—fight or flight. The forest goes up in smoke; the howling wind rushes through the trees; the raging inferno decimates everything in its path. All that is left behind: ashes.

We inhabit a planet where "every man for himself" is the dominant societal creed. The idealistic world of perfect camaraderie was cremated long ago. Yet even through this destruction, dispersed among shadows that whisper "the end," remnants of life remain.

Our lives are seeds. The promise encapsulated within each grain of life is limitless, immeasurable. Yet the self-preservation instinct of fallen humanity prompts us to resist, urges us to run from the hands of the divine Sower, the only One capable of planting us in the soil that stirs us from our dormancy and awakens new growth. But unless the ruins of our sinful hearts are broken and buried, unless we allow God to lay our human glory in the dust—until we surrender—what is of real value will never come into existence.

True love makes a sacrifice. But this end is really just the beginning, for "the life that will be preserved is the life that is freely given" (The Desire of Ages, pg. 623). Then, from the ashes of this desolate landscape, sprouts a sapling: the genesis of life.

Dying to Live was written by Fountainview Academy Grade 11 English students (class of 2017). It is our prayer that as you read these devotionals, you will discover that when you lay down your life to be hidden with Christ—surrendering all to Him—it is then that your life will be found.