Valuing Sacrifice
Tomorrow is Memorial Day. It is a day that we set aside to reflect on those who served and died for our country. The Bible tells us to honor all men (1 Peter 2:17), and it is appropriate to honor those who have died in defense of our lives and the lives of others. I am thankful for them.
Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13). The love Jesus had in mind was not carnal or erotic, but filial. God demonstrated this kind of love in Jesus’ death. Romans 5:6-8 says, “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” If we can memorialize a service members death for his comrades and nation once a year, then how much more appropriate is it to memorialize Jesus’ death once a week. He died not just for one country, but for all. He died, not just for His friends, but for His enemies. It is from Jesus that we learn to value such sacrifices.
This love teaches us how to love others. “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). In recognizing and understanding the sacrifice of Jesus, we learn what it means to sacrifice and love others. Today, we are called to be living sacrifices (Romans 12:1-2). This does not mean dying for others, but living for them.
God bless you, and I love you.
Kevin Cauley