Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me?” John 13:37-38a
There’s a story of a little girl several years ago at the Stanford Medical Hospital who was suffering from a rare and very serious disease. The only way she was going to survive would be to receive a complete blood transfusion.
The doctors were convinced that the best chance of a blood transfusion would be from her five-year-old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed antibodies to fight the disease. He would be her only hope. At five years old, the doctors knew that he couldn't understand everything that was going on, and so they just asked him if he would be willing to help out his big sister by giving her his blood. The little boy looked at the doctors, looked at his sister and agreed to help.
As the little boy lay in the bed next to his sister and saw his blood starting to pass from his arm to hers, he looked up at the doctor and said with a trembling voice, “Will I start to die right away, or will it take a while?”
It was then that the doctors realized that he thought that he was giving his very life for his sister.
As we end our third week together we come to this haunting and probing question. It’s a question that shakes us to the core, if we are willing to take it seriously. Are you willing to lay down your life for Jesus? Surely there must be another way.
But there isn’t a Plan B on the road to the cross. Perhaps that’s both the Good News and the bad news; both at the same time.
What does that leave us? Perhaps with this. An A B C process.
First Accept. Accept God amazing love and grace that’s given for you. The Bible promises us that there is nothing in all of creation that is able to separate you from the love of God in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Nothing. No problems, no struggles, nothing in your past can separate you from God’s love. Simply accept that God loves you.
Second, Believe. Believe that Jesus lived his life for you and died on the cross for you and came back to life for you. Believe that when Jesus died on the cross, he died with your name on his lips. Believe that Jesus extends his arms to embrace you because he loves you and gave his life for you.
Third, Commit. Commit to making the love of God and the sacrifice of Jesus more real in your life. Commit to reading your Bible more often, to going to worship more regularly, and to discovering more about prayer so that your life might be more closely aligned with what God wants you to be doing.
A B C. It may not be as simple as abc, but when you do those three things on a regular basis, you come closer to understanding what it means that Jesus laid down his life for you.
Are you willing to lay down your life for Jesus?
Questions to Ponder
- What would you have said to the little boy who thought he was giving his life for his sister? Think about how he must have been raised. What values do you think his parents instilled in him?
- What do you think about the A B C process? Is it something you’re willing to do? If so, what are some ways you can make it real in your life?
Prayer for Today:
O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee,
For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me;
I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne;
My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone.
In Jesus’ Holy Name. Amen
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