Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down His life for His friends. John 15:13
Read John 15 here: https://www.bible.com/bible/59/JHN.15.ESV
Verse 12 commands us to love one another as Christ has loved us. This love is explained in verse 13, He loved us by laying His life down for us. This is the greatest love known to man.
These words in chapter 15 were told by Christ before His death, to show that Christ not only tells us how to love, but yet again shows us how,. Christ proves Himself to be a great teacher by being our great promise keeper. He isn’t merely our greatest example of love, but He IS greatest Love. It’s who He is, not merely what He does.
So, if we are to love like Christ, we must be love. Carry the weight it demands, but also except the freedom it gives. We are to be a servant of all. Some of us physically laying our lives down for the sake of Christ and for the sake of love, and others of us laying our lives down everyday by how we work, who we serve, who we love, where we go, and what we do.
Matthew 10:39 says, “Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” This is the Christian life, to lose your life for the sake of Christ who is love. If we lay down our lives, Christ promises to pick it up again. How can we know that He will keep His promise? Because He laid His own life down and picked it back up.
How do we lay down our lives?
Some brothers and sisters will truly lose their lives by being martyrs for Christ around the world. But this isn’t the future for all of us, every believer won’t be physical martyred, but every believer will lay down his life. We must do this by laying down our pride that entangles us, by setting aside our desire for status and find it in Jesus alone, setting aside our pursuit of fulfillment and pleasure in this world and direct our efforts towards the Glory to come in our next life—our true life, and we must sacrifice our time, resources, finances, and efforts for the sake of loving others, and ultimately furthering the Gospel. This is the call. Will you answer it?
Pursue Greater Love.
Prayer:
Lord,
Thank you for being my Greatest Love and great promise keeper.
Thank you for not only telling me that you love me, but by showing it in the most powerful and sacrificial way, by your death on the cross.
Help me to love like You have, to pick up my cross and follow after you.
Give me the strength we need to truly lose my life for your sake so that I might find it in you.
I love you Lord.
Amen