Lay Down

www.bible.com/1713/jhn.15.13.csb

I don’t know what kinds of friends you hang out with, but I think I’ve got some pretty good ones. But as good as they are, I don’t know if any would lay down his life for me. I am just being honest here. By the same token, I don’t know for which of my friends I would lay down my life for either. You are talking here about a serious commitment to friendship. When push came to shove, would you willingingly intercede for a friend to the point of giving up your life? I’m sorry. For me that’s a tough call. I can’t sit here and tell you that I’ve ever had that put to the test. I am reminded of the text in Romans:

(Rom 5:7)  For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—

Even as well as we know our friends, do we know them to be good? Would we consider them worthy enough to die for?

I am reminded of a situation which occurred in our community a few years ago, when one woman was in need of a kidney. Another woman, found that she had a compatible kidney, and without being forced or under any duress, she willingly gave her healthy kidney to the sick woman. And both are alive today. But giving up a kidney isn’t the same, since you expect to live if you donate a kidney. What would it mean to donate a liver, or a lung, or a heart? Would you be willing to do that for a friend?

I know this verse is often quoted around Memorial Day to remember those who gave up their lives for our nation. And I believe they do deserve such honor. But would say they didn’t die for their country so much as for their mothers, their wives, or their children. “I will stop of the enemy horde here if it means my family will live.” Many no doubt died not for someone they longed for back home, but for the person beside them, their battle buddy, their friend and comrade. Training, battle and foxholes make for powerful friendships.

I think for each of us, where the line is drawn that we cannot cross is drawn in different places for different people. Your ability to tolerate inconvenience is probably different for different people in your life. But this little post may be a way to get that thought going in the back of your head. All of us will die of something. But it is up to you to choose who you will die for.

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
(Rom 5:8)

Live like Jesus.