By: J. Devlin
“We know love by this, that He laid down
His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren”1 John
3:16
I find it impossible to lose sight of
the fact that Christ not only died for our sins, but He also endured everything
we would have to endure, so that we could never say that He didn’t understand
our problems.
In the verse above, we see how Jesus
shows His unconditional, undeserved love through His willingness to die for us
in order to give us life. With this action on His part, He has every right to
request that we offer the littlest portion of such a gesture for someone else.
This verse doesn’t only talk about showing love by losing your physical life;
but also about setting aside your own agenda in order to help, reach out to,
and love others.
If you think there are no people on
earth today that are willing to die for their fellow man, look again! All you
have to do is take a look around your community—from the policemen, firemen, and
emergency crews to members of the military.
We see that such a love for others is
all around us. It doesn’t have to be as glamorous as the secret service in
their dapper suits and earpiece communications to be a life-saving profession.
We all witnessed countless heroes on 9/11 and during other tragedies who did
their all to save the lives of others.
We see accounts of heroism on some level
just about every night on the evening news. People are seen laying their own
lives on the line for someone else. How much moreshould we be willing to
lay down our lives for others since we have the example of Christ being
sacrificed once for all men!
If you ask any of these people
(servicemen and women, firemen, policemen, etc.) “why” they do what they do,
they may not be able to tell you, it’s just something in them—a sense of duty
that makes them willing. It’s the same with our faith! With the Holy Spirit in
us, we will just be walking in the Spirit, willing to do what we should as we
love each other.
The picture of love that Christ showed
us is perfect. Love in its simplest form according to Christ is obedience.
Christ was obedient to the Father and became the ultimate sacrifice, a greater
example of love does not exist!
In John 14:15 we see Jesus
give guidance on our relationship with Him, where He says,
“If you love Me, you will keep My
commandments.”
Obedience is a result of love and
respect. When we love Jesus, we obey His requests. Jesus loved the Father and
obeyed His commands.
We love God and others, and one way we
show our love is through obeying God’s commands. Jesus clearly tells His
people,
"A new commandment I give to you,
that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one
another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love
for one another."John 13:34
In this, we can see that loving one
another Jesus’ way is more than “mushy gushy love talk” and a quick hug. It’s
the real, lay down your life, pull together and help someone where they need
you (even when it’s not easy) type gesture backed up by genuine, hard-working
action.
Love is the best when it is being
“worked out” and actions are involved. Love is an action. It is not just a
passing emotion that requires little more than brainpower and some smooth talk!
Jesus showed love to those He came into
contact with during His earthly ministry by improving their situation. He
impacted their lives in positive ways. He cast out demons, making the possessed
emotionally whole. He healed physical conditions; He helped out at a wedding to
bring honor to those hosting it. He changed lives. Jesus helped us all by
giving us the hope of salvation.
Excerpted from Life Principles for
Christ-like Living, with permission, Copyright 2006 by Jennifer Devlin, ISBN 0-89957-339-8.
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