A Love to Die For

"For this is the message you have heard from the beginning:  You should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother.  And why did he murder him?  Because his own actions were evil and his brother's righteous.  Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.  We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers.  Anyone who does not love remains in death.  Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.  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."
I John 3:11-16

I love the parallels and intricacies of the Word of God.  The most famous scripture of all, John 3:16, is all about love and what God gave to show his love.  Now I John 3:16 seems to build upon that same foundation.  Ironic.  Or is it?

The most profound declaration of love is to lay down our lives for another.  Usually making that kind of sacrifice would be limited only to our very closest family, or maybe an unusually close friend.  Yet Jesus laid down his life for his  enemies.  When I was in sin, when I did not want to follow or please him, he looked  and me and said, "Yeah.  She's worth it!"  The same is true of you.  It is purely ludicrous in our way of seeing things, but that is the power of this extravagant, God-kind of love.

In this passage I can almost hear Jesus say, "You want to show love?  Watch me very closely and carefully do what I did."  Then Jesus embraces Judas,  and  his fate,  He willingly stretches out his arm in a love-embrace upon a cruel cross.

Perhaps- and hopefully-  we will never be called upon to literally lay down our lives for a brother.  But in other sacrificial, dying-to-self kinds of ways, we can  live this kind of love daily.  This kind of love lets someone else take the credit; get the leanest cut of meat, and have their pick of TV show.  This kind of love does not think less of self, but rather thinks of self less often.  (I believe Pastor Rick Warren said this).

We ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.  Not that this is a best practice.  Not that it is preferable and highly recommended.  Rather, we ought to do it.  It is just part of our reasonable sacrifice of love.

Dear Lord, forgive me when I become self-centered or resentful in serving.  Help me to love in life as you did in death.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.

Sherri