Lay It Down & Live

Verse of the day: 1 John 3:16 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

One of the evidences that exists in our lives that proves that we are God’s children is how we love the brethren. The Apostle John tells us that if we do not love our brother, we are not of God. If I were going to ask someone to write a list of sins that a person practices regularly that would make them question whether someone is a Christian or not, loving our brothers/sisters would not likely make that list. Yet, God lists that sin as one that shows that we still belong to the devil if we refuse to love our brother/sister (v. 10; 14-15). As born again believers we are not just to love our brothers/sisters; we are to love them as Jesus loves them. How did Jesus love them? He laid down His life for both us and them. In return, He calls us to love one another the same way He has loved us (John 13:34-35). It was not because God said that He loves us that we know it, but the fact that Jesus laid down His life for us proved it, and helped us to know it. The same applies to how we love one another. It is not enough to say that we love, but that love must be proven by our willingness to lay down our lives. Just as a soldier is willing to lay down his/her life for the sake of their country, so we are to lay down our lives in service to the Lord, and in proving that we love one another. Showing that we love our brother is the same as showing that we love God. I say this because in our service to God, He will call us to sacrifice for one another. He tells us in the chapter, v. 17, that if we have of this world’s goods, and our brother/sister is in need, and we do nothing to help, then the love of God does not dwell in us. In loving others by meeting their needs, even if it means sacrificing our own needs and trusting God to take care of us, we demonstrate obedience and our love for God. We really cannot separate one from the other. The Apostle John wrote in 1 John 4:20 that if we say we love God, but hate our brother, we are a liar. The same applies to forgiving one another. If we hold a grudge against one another for any offense, and refuse to forgive and restore a relationship, we are being disobedient to God’s command to forgive, and we cannot claim that we love God or our brother/sister. God is clear in His command that we are to forgive one another, in kindness and tenderheartedness, even as He has forgiven us in Christ (Eph. 4:32), and continues to forgive us every time we stumble and offend Him. To lay down our lives could mean that we lay it down in death. Many have been martyred for the cause of Christ. Many have gone to the mission field and willingly died for the sake of the Gospel. Today, many are being martyred for their faith because they refuse to denounce or renounce their faith in Christ. We sometimes hear in the news and read in the newspaper that someone risked or gave their life in order to save someone else’s. We may not always find ourselves in a position of losing our lives, but we very well may find ourselves in a position to sacrifice our lives for the sake of serving God and meeting the needs of our brethren. At any moment we must be willing to go wherever He sends us to minister to whoever is in need. He could call us to give us a vocation to serve Him as a pastor or missionary. He could call us to serve in some ministry that calls us to give up something in our lives (playing a sport, or putting aside a hobby) in order to be able to give Him the time needed to carry out the ministry. We must be willing to sacrifice our time, resources (yes, including our money and material good), and anything else God requires of us. We must also be willing to put our own needs on the backburner, trusting that God cares about our needs and will take care of us while we tend to the needs of others, all for the glory of God (1 Peter 5:7).

God proved His love for us when He gave us His Son (John 3:16) God promised that if we believe and call upon His Son, Jesus, for eternal life, He will save us and we will spend eternity with Him (Rom 6:23; 10:13). Repent, confess your sins, and be saved. Receive Him and His free gift of salvation today.