1 John 3:16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
There is a series on Netflix that highlights “Medal of Honor” recipients, those who risked their lives to save the lives of others in combat. It is the highest military decoration that can be awarded to a service member of acts of valor. Very few men and women receive this award!
The series highlights a few of these recipients, telling the story of their lives and the valor that lead to their award, many posthumously.
The extent to which some of the people were willing to risk their own life to save others is inspiring. I would like to think that I could do the same in their circumstances, but I am not sure I could. I might allow fear to lead me to cower rather than stand an fight to protect my fellow service members.
I am thankful that I was not in this type of situation while I served in the Army. I wasn’t called upon, nor was in In this type of situation. I do know some people who performed heroic acts, impossible acts, death-defying acts. I also know some who were put in impossible situations that stretched their moral boundaries in order to protect those they served with.
Our verse for today lifts up Jesus as the example of those who lay down their lives for others. But unlike Medal of Honor recipients, Jesus laid down His life even for His enemies. He laid down His life even for those who killed Him. Now that is at a whole other level!
But what makes this very so difficult for us is that we are told we should do the same for our brothers and sisters in Christ. We should follow Jesus’ example and lay down our lives for them. Wow, that is a tough thing to ask, isn’t it!
Our text continues and gives us an example of this “laying down” in the following verses. It isn’t just giving up our physical life to save them, it involves much more than that. It involves things that everyone of us can do, not just those brave enough to take a bullet for a friend.
If we have stuff, and someone else needs our stuff, we lay down our life by giving them what they need. If they have a need, and we have the means to meet that need, we lay down our life by meeting that need.
This laying down is much more than words. It must end up in actions we do toward others.
In a recent charity event Bill Gates was booed for giving $500,000 dollars. Why was he booed? $500,000 was nothing to him. It cost him nothing to give that amount. Laying down our life must cost us something. We must feel the squeeze.
Now for some, sacrificial living is not as difficult. Their personality and spiritual bent is more toward thinking of others and doing for others. But all of us are called to shift in our thinking and living in this direction. This is love!
The Arnold Journey 