Devotion:
Read John 15:9-13.
These verses are both comforting and challenging. We remain in Jesus’ love if we keep his commands, the essence of which is to love God and to love one another. It seems Jesus always calls us beyond the easy way and to come follow him in ways that are not easy at all. Verse 13 describes the greatest love of all…laying down one’s life for another. Some of the people who have loved us the most have made real sacrifices for us. Parents who worked hard, sacrificing their leisure for our well-being; teachers who could have earned much more money in other professions but sacrificed in order to teach young minds and mold lives, spouses who sacrificed in their careers in order for us to flourish in ours, and so on.
It is very rare that we are called upon to literally sacrifice our lives for the lives of others, but when we really love someone, we will sacrifice and settle for less in our lives in order for theirs to be more complete, more successful, and abundant. And if our love is real, as Christ’s love was and is real, we do not keep a balance sheet, we do not remind others of our sacrifice, but we make our sacrifices happily and count it all as our gain. See what I mean about challenging?
Personal Worship Option:
Give thanks today for those who have sacrificed for you. Perhaps now would be a good time to send them a card or text or to call and thank them. Thank God for Christ’s sacrificial love. If you are sacrificing something in your own life for others, thank God for the opportunity to love.
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