Are you willing to give up your life for someone else’s? Have you ever been in a position to do so? Has someone else given up their life for you? What are your thoughts about one life being sacrificed for another? What if it was one life being sacrificed for many others?
Many people in this world are afraid of death. In fact, many do not even want to talk about death. The thought of dying terrifies them. It is sad that people are so afraid of death. It means they have no hope—no real hope. They only have a false hope for this life.
Yet, those of us who are Christians should have no fear of death. Rather, we should look forward to the reward it holds without seeking it. We should find solace in knowing how the story ends. True, there may be some bumps in the road. We may experience hardships along the way. But that doesn’t lessen the reward at the end.
We know that Jesus laid down His life for us. We are told in John 3:16 that God sent his Son so that we may have eternal life. In today’s passage, 1 John 3:16, John tells us that we should lay down our life just as Jesus laid down His. Not that we will save the entire world, but we may save someone else.
How can we save someone else by laying down our life? We give up our preference to bring someone else to eternal life. We allow someone else space to learn how to follow Christ, rather than trying to force our personal beliefs on them. We come to understand there are multiple ways to follow Christ. After all, God created each of us individually.
I pray we all remember that Christ gave His life for us. I pray we lay down our lives for others. I pray each one of us are willing to give up our preference to bring someone to Christ. Know Jesus laid down His life for you. Give up your preferences. Give others space. Lay down your life for others.
1 John 3:16 We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.
Marty Pressey 