Words from the Rock
Now I tell you to love each other, as I have loved you. The greatest way to show love for friends is to die for them.
John 15:12–13 CEV
Do you think you’d jump in front of a freight train to save your best friend’s life if it meant you got killed in the process? Tough question, isn’t it? You probably wish you could say yes, of course—you love your friend so much you’d willingly relinquish your life for him or her. But what would actually happen when the rubber met the road (or the steel wheels met the tracks)? Would you really give up your last breath for someone else? The truth is you might not be as brave or selfless as you’d like to think. Not many people are.
When Jesus told his friends this, he knew that he would soon be giving up everything, including his earthly life, for them. The reason he could make this sacrifice—and make it willingly—was because he loved them so much. Jesus knew that by surrendering his life, he was securing eternity for all who believed in him. His death was the greatest expression of his love. And he tells us to love each other with that same kind of commitment and intensity. But what does it mean? Seriously, how often does a person have to leap in front of a train to rescue a friend?
While it’s somewhat unlikely that you’ll physically give up your life for a friend, there are other ways to imitate Jesus’s example of love. Every time you put someone else’s interests above your own, set aside your own selfishness for them, or inconvenience yourself to help them, you are in essence dying to yourself. When you make personal sacrifices for the benefit of others, you practice the kind of selfless love that Jesus described.
My Prayer
Dear God,
Help me to put other people’s needs above my own. Please remind me when I’m being selfish, and show me how to grow up in the way I love others.
Amen.
Final Word
Anyone who claims to live in God’s light and hates a brother or sister is still in the dark. It’s the person who loves brother and sister who dwells in God’s light and doesn’t block the light from others.
1 John 2:9–10 Message
Stone for the Journey
With God’s help, I can love others selflessly.