Laying Down Your Life

 No one has greater love than this – that one lays down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.  John 15:13-14

 How am I laying my life down for my friends? Jesus clearly did this for me. He laid down His Heavenly life, deigning to come to earth and live as a human. He laid down His opportunity for earthly fame and stature, instead choosing to do the right thing over the popular thing. Then He gave up His earthly life, choosing to die a horrible death on the cross, to pay for my sins, so that I could be with Him forever. He did this for me while I was still His enemy, before I was even born, knowing all that I would do apart from and against Him. That is true love. How am I to love like that?

 Jesus left His comfortable, perfect place to come down to earth. Where I live is certainly comfortable though I’d hardly call it perfect. My husband is presently in the bathroom stripping and recaulking everything in an ongoing battle with ants. Yes, there are quirks to it, but I live in a pretty comfortable house. I have a nice, warm, cozy bed I get to sleep in at night, behind a door that shuts. I have food to eat and lots of ways to cook it. I have places to sit with my family and entertain company. And if I am going to love my friends, sometimes I have to leave that comfort. On Mondays, lately, that means stepping outside and driving to my favorite coffee shop to do Bible study with two very dear friends. That hardly seems like a sacrifice, but for me it does take intention and effort as I have to set myself up and prepare even from a day or two before so that I will have enough energy and be in a good place physically to drive, let alone sit up in a chair for a couple of hours. On other days this might mean leaving my house to greet at church. This sounds so simple, but the last couple of times I’ve had to have my son hunt down a chair for me to sit in while I do it because standing up for 30 minutes wasn’t going to happen. Then there are the times when I leave the house to work in the community through the Mission’s Search and Rescue program where we go out onto the streets and into the homeless camps to serve those who don’t have a comfy bed to sleep in or a door that shuts. Those days are really tough. I hurt bad. I’m exhausted. I’m barely holding on until it’s over, and then it takes days, if not a week or more to recuperate. But I feel like this is when I’m laying down my life for my friends. I wish I could do it more like my husband and the team do, but I just can’t. So, once a month, I’ll go out and pray with Regina and her cart looking for a way to boil her corn, or 92 year old Dory in her car, tolerating her clumsy guardian angel, Kenneth, who watches over her.

 Jesus chose to do the right thing over the popular thing. He could have made everyone like Him. He had the power to do miracles, He could have given everyone everything they ever wanted. He could have lived a life of luxury and ease. Instead, He came as a baby to the family of a carpenter, learning how to work hard from a young age. Before beginning His ministry, He spent time in the wilderness fasting and praying for over a month. During His ministry, He had no place to lay His head (Matthew 8:20). Jesus chose the hard thing. I have… less choice. Yes, I live in a comfortable home with a family and lots of good things, but I live in that situation with great pain and chronic illness. That’s not something I chose. I can’t say I sacrificed or made some noble decision to benefit others that led to it. And yet, I pray it does benefit others. I pray, through my blog and other testimonies, that I can give glory to God and proclaim His goodness from the midst of pain. My illnesses give me platforms and ways to reach people that I otherwise never could. Living as I do makes it so that people hear me who would likely otherwise dismiss me because I couldn’t identify with their situation. I qualify to receive ketamine treatment. I could certainly live on medical marijuana. But instead, I choose to keep a clear head, or at least as clear as possible, and be able to maintain this ministry. Be able to be there for my family and my friends. In that way I am laying my life down for them.

 Finally, Jesus laid His life down for us by literally laying His life down for us. He died on our behalf, taking the punishment for our sin. Now that’s something I can’t imagine being able to emulate. For one thing, I am certainly not without sin, so I wouldn’t qualify for the sacrifice. But I pray that if a situation arose where I could intervene to spare someone else’s life, where I could put myself at risk instead of them, I pray I would have the courage to do it through the Holy Spirit.

Here's the Thing: Jesus gave us the perfect example of laying down His life through coming to earth, living a life of ministry, and dying in our place. I strive to emulate that in my life, to have His greater love for others and to obey His commands to love God and love my neighbor.