Love for one Another

John 15:9-13, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

This season of Lent has given me the opportunity to reflect on my love for God but also my love for my fellow human beings. I think that all of us would agree that there are some people that are easier to love than others. Remember, that there are those people that probably feel the same way about each of us. No one of us is perfect and we all have our faults, failures and shortcomings. Do you remember the words of an old song; "He (God) looked beyond my faults and He saw my needs..." I am thankful that God has never given up on me and the people that care about me have never given up on me. The previous sentence may be worth a strong and vibrant, "Thank you Jesus!!!"

I read some words from Mel Lawrenz that spoke to my heart today and I would like to share them with you.

"We’ve heard stories of brave sacrifices—a soldier throwing his body on a hand grenade, a bystander pulling someone off a subway track, a firefighter charging into an inferno only to lose his own life. These are stirring, and they show humanity at its best. But Jesus’ sacrifice was not the impulse of a desperate moment. He moved with resolve toward his own end. There truly is no greater love. We could look through every page of history and into every corner of the universe, and we wouldn’t find anything that even comes close. Jesus looked at his friends, told them he would be laying down his life, and then required one simple thing of them (and us): love each other."

Are you thankful that Christ was willing to offer Himself as a willing sacrifice for the sins that we had committed? His death was a death by choice and not a death by force. Christ chose to take our place and now we have the awesome privilege to share that example of love with people that God places in our lives on a daily basis. Now that we have freely received the love of God let us freely share the love of God with others.