NO GREATER LOVE

Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. (John 15:13,14)

We know that JESUS died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. It is only by his death that we are allowed a relationship with GOD under the new covenant. It may be that one of us will someday be required to die rather than deny our faith in JESUS. Such a death would mark one as a martyr. This happened to multitudes of Christians in the first centuries of the Church. But a martyr is not only one who has died for a cause but is one who is willing to die for a cause. Are you willing to die for your faith? Are you a martyr for Christ?

But John did not say that dying exhibits the greatest love a man could have for another. Instead he said that to lay down his life for his friends shows the greatest love. JESUS not only died for us but he lived for us. He lived every minute of his life, perfect in all his ways, doing the will of the Father. Had he reserved even one minute of his life for his own selfish desires then his death would have been worth no more than the death of any other man. Only the perfect sacrifice was sufficient to satisfy once and for all the judgement of GOD.

But we can delve even deeper into the love of JESUS. Before he could forfeit his life here on earth he had to give up his place, his life, in the presence of the Father to come to earth as a man. We can not imagine the price that he paid in giving up the glory of Heaven, his exalted position among all the eternal beings to take the form of a man.

Now we must ask ourselves about the depth of our love for JESUS. Are we his friends? Do we keep his commands? Are we willing to lay down our life for him, to keep his commands? Each and every day?

Water baptism signifies the death and burial of sinful (selfish) man and the resurrection with Christ of a new creature whose life is found in Christ. As a Christian I pray that the sinful, selfish man that I was shall ever be dead and buried. He no longer has life for I have forfeited my life in service to JESUS as he forfeited his life in service to the Father. What more can I do? What greater love can I show? It is all that I can do. Yet nothing less will do.

In John 15:17 JESUS says, "This is my command: Love each other." If we are to be his friends we must keep his commands. To keep this command we must love not only him but also one another, his friends. Those that love the LORD will love one another. Those that do not love one another do not keep his command.

Colossians 3:1-17 summarizes well the conduct expected from those that would be the friends of JESUS. Verse 17 captures the very essence of Christian living. "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the LORD JESUS, giving thanks to GOD the Father through him."

The Christian life is not a life of compromise. It requires a total commitment. The struggles of this life will certainly test that commitment and we may be disappointed with our performance at times. But let our commitment be genuine, let our desire be for purity and let our words and our deeds be a witness to our Savior, JESUS Christ!

Keep the fellowship pure,

Don B.