LEARNING DAILY

John 15:13-14, Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.  Jesus

Jesus is preparing the disciples for His coming death. The statement above comes right after telling them they are to love one another. The ultimate act of love is to willingly lay one’s life down for another. In John 10:17-18, Jesus had laid the groundwork for His crucifixion by saying the father loved Him because He willingly laid His life down – no one took it from Him. In Romans 5:7-8, Paul wrote, “For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Truly loving others by laying down one’s life happens only when one consistently abides in the love of Christ.

Love, true love, involves a sacrifice of one as he/she seeks to help the one loved. It makes sense that the greatest love of all would be one laying down his/her life for their loved one. That can mean all sorts of things one might sacrifice to help another. It is obviously seen in 1 John 4:10-11, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [appeasement] for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” The love John wrote about, “agape love”, is how Believers are saved. How can a Believer love an unlovable person on their own? It only can be done by understanding how unlovable your sinfulness made you when God first loved you. To love sacrificially is not fully understood in today’s world; the world tends to move toward self-centeredness.

This idea keeps going back to Jesus telling His disciples that, “all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” You do not have to wait to show this love to others by stepping in front of something meant for another. There has been a saying that refers to do a “random act of kindness each day”. The life of a believer should be characterized by selflessness and denying ourselves to do something good for another person. This simply means Believers should display the love of Jesus in their light each day; it should be a common happening. Philippians 2:3-4 instructs Believers to do nothing out of selfish ambition but to look out for the interests of others before yourself. Romans 12:10 tells believers to be devoted to placing others before yourself.

Jesus went on to telling His disciples that their obedience to His teaching gave validity to their relationship to Him; Believers are obligated to love like He did. Jesus said those who do as He commands are His friends. John 15:13-14 describe the relationship Jesus had with His disciples. He did not die just for them. He died for the ungodly (Romans 5:6). Laying down one’s life for a friend goes further than some Believers do for their friends. It extends toward the lost and even our enemies. Jesus laid down His life for Believers while they were still sinners; he did so to be an example for the way Believers are to love others, to walk that same selfless love!