Reading
(Jesus said): “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
John 15:13 (New Living Translation)
Reflection
In his book Why Did Jesus Have to Die? Adam Hamilton wrote, “What is our ‘target’?” In other words, what’s the main goal of the Christian life? Hamilton goes on to explain, “Jesus spoke of two ‘great commandments’ in the Hebrew Bible. He quotes Deuteronomy 6:5, which tells us to ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your being, and all your strength,’ and Leviticus 19:18 says that ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’”
For me, Jesus’ emphasis on love is crucial to understanding that his sacrifice on the cross makes all the difference in my life. The love that flows from Christ frees me from guilt and shame, because Jesus has offered complete forgiveness with complete efficacy. The fact that Jesus–who I believe was fully human but also fully divine–was willing to go to the cross is not only the supreme example of what it means for me to embrace a life of loving the way God wants me to love; it also liberates me from any nagging doubt that loving completely is a possibility in this life. Going on toward loving more perfectly, as we follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit, is exactly what we mean when we talk about sanctification. To be sanctified means to be “set apart” for a holy purpose. The holy purpose is God’s intention for love, and if we are not the ones being set apart to grow in that same love, then who else might it be?
Clearly, we are never perfect in all thoughts, words, or deeds. Mistakes are part of simply being human. Yet, what we’re talking about here is not attaining a state of being error-free so much as being so filled with the love of Christ that such love comes out of us naturally, daily, and very much on purpose. We can, indeed, be filled with the constant knowledge that victory has already been won on our behalf. Furthermore, because Christ has attained that victory, we can continue to run the race, even as we are being changed from the inside out. Eventually, the change that we see in ourselves will grow deeper, wider, and more encompassing until love is the main thing that lives in us and spills out of us.
As the Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” Christ has lovingly taken hold of us; so we press on, no matter what.
Sometimes, well-meaning people who have a stalwart faith can be nonetheless misguided. I’ve heard someone say that since God (through the sacrifice of Jesus) has loved us into salvation, even though we were sinners, that means love is not really what we’re called to in our life of faith, because we’re incapable of such love. Instead, they claim, obedience is our calling. I think this misses the point, because it is exactly love that is the only true expression of faithful obedience to a God who loves us. And if the authenticity of our faith can be fairly evaluated by any factor, that factor must be love. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross is the ultimate message from God—namely, that we are loved by God completely and that we are saved not from a calling to love, but for such a calling.
What does love do? It serves without need of a thank-you. It goes without when others are in need. It reaches out to take the hand of the lonely. It works for justice for those who are oppressed. Ultimately, it gives up life itself if that saves another’s.
Would I be willing to lay down my life to save another’s, regardless of whether I knew that person? I sincerely hope so. But of one thing I’m certain, and it’s this: That the words of the old hymn by George Matheson ring true in my soul:
“O love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.”
There is only one way I can know the richness and fullness of God’s abundant life in me, and that’s to love each day and to keep learning how to love more deeply and more like Christ loves. I might not ever find myself in a situation where’s it’s necessary to give my life for another’s, but there’s one thing I can do every day—dedicate my life to God, who has saved me by the power of perfect love. So, when I look at the symbol of the cross, I am thankful for the saving grace given to me through the sacrificial love of Christ, and I pray that somehow—through the mysterious work of the Holy Spirit—I might be changed into the likeness of Christ’s love.
Prayer
Almighty and Loving God, you have provided everything for us. You have saved us because we cannot save ourselves. You have taken hold of us with the grasp of your love. And we know that you’ll never let go. You have set us apart and called us to live out that same kind of love which now defines us. Make it so. Amen.
