John 15:13 states,
"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends."
When you read about the life of Jesus Christ, you cannot help but be moved and motivated by the kind of life He lived. He healed people, showed compassion for the hurting, afflicted the religiously comfortable, and comforted the afflicted. Jesus confronted man-made barriers, stood up for all, helped so many, and went out of His way to serve God and His fellow man. His claims to deity were backed up by the life He lived and the miracles He performed.
But what people recall about the life of Jesus more than anything else is His death on the cross and resurrection three days later. Jesus died the most cruel and horrendous death, the death of a criminal upon a cross. The Romans wanted it to be cruel so that others would see it, obey the law, and stay in line. But Jesus' crime was His love for sinners and willingness to confront religious pride. He did so, and it cost Him His life. But as John makes clear, it was all part of His divine plan of redemption. Jesus said in
John 10:17-18,
"Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father."
Two weeks ago in Utah, 41-year-old Meg O'Neill died while climbing with two friends. When climbing the frozen Raven Falls in Indian Canyon, a massive column of ice from a waterfall split into. O'Neill pushed her 21-year-old fellow climber out of the way, and the ice fell on her, crushing her underneath. It took rescue workers 30 hours to recover her body from under the weight of the ice. The third climber fell 40 feet and was airlifted to a hospital with serious injuries.
Friends and loved ones remembered O'Neil as a dear friend, hero, servant, and fearless leader. She worked at Embark Outdoors, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping inspire young refugee women through outdoor sports. One official said she was a "brave, outrageous woman who lost her life while saving another." (
Source.)
Stories like O'Neill's remind us of Jesus' words spoken to His disciples in our biblical text for today's devotion. We are in awe and deeply inspired by her heroic act of sacrificial love. The kind of love she displayed was agape love, the type that makes sacrifices for others. Jesus Christ laid down His life for the sins of the world. He was perfect, yet He bore all our sins and paid the price for our eternal salvation. I will never get over the wonder of His death. I could read about it and ponder it every day of my life, and it would still be wondrous and awe-inspiring.
If you have never committed your life to the Lord, I invite you to do so now. Call out to Jesus in prayer, and surrender your life to Him.
Romans 10:13 promises that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved. Do it now.
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