Love Like Jesus

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13 (ESV)

Love is a ubiquitous topic within the Bible. It shows up everywhere and for good reason. Scripture says that God loves us and is in fact love Himself. It is part of the definition of who our God is. All humans yearn for a love like that. God’s mercy and grace embody it. But seldom is it easy for us to embody it because of our human limitations and our bent toward sin.

In John 15:13, Jesus says the greatest love is to lay down your life for someone else. Jesus himself would do that shortly after he speaks these words. But what does that mean for believers? Certainly there are martyrs for the faith that have done that very thing but not everyone is called to be a martyr. 

Instead there are other ways to lay our lives down for others. The early church did this very thing in Acts 2 where they put all things they had in common to help those who had need. In today’s church, we lay our lives down by serving others in the community, serving our church family by helping in ministry groups, committees, with kids and youth, and many other outlets. 

The point is not everyone is called to sacrifice in the same way, but all are called to lay our lives down for the benefit of others in whatever way God calls us to.

In His Service,

Pastor Jared