Sacrificing Our Lives for Others

1 John 3:16

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

The life of Jesus Christ was the epitome of servanthood.  He poured Himself out upon the needs of the people, especially the need for salvation from sin.  He was willing to be the sacrificial lamb.  He was willing to be the door mat under people's feet.  He sought no recognition.  He sought to show us what love is.  He is the precious Lamb of God.  He is love.

More than that, Jesus is the perfect model of love.  He represents the ideal standard for us to imitate.  As His disciples, we are called to be His bondservants.  We are called to serve the will of Our Master.  We are called to serve the world as He served the world, sacrificing all that we are and all that we have for the good of all mankind and for the honor and glory of the Father.  We are to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.  And like Jesus, we must extend ourselves on behalf of others whether or not they merit our services.

It is highly unlikely that any of us will actually lay down our lives for another in one definitive event.  Therefore, let us define our lives by the continuous extension of ourselves to others.  Let the accumulation of our smiles for the downhearted, our encouraging words for the downtrodden and our charitable services for those who are down and out be the ultimate measure of our sacrifice for our brothers and sisters.  Let the accumulation of our small sacrifices and acts of love be for the honor and glory of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, to be the blood sacrifice required to atone for the sins of all mankind.  We praise the name of the Precious Lamb of God who gave His life so that we may all have eternal life with You, Father.  We pray that the Holy Spirit will take us to the foot of the Cross to seek a life of service to all men.  We pray that the Holy Spirit will teach us how to minister in love to those around us.  We ask, Lord, that you provide the grace that we need to forsake the need for recognition, except in Your eyes.  May our lives be a reflection of our Servant King.  We ask all these things in the holy and mighty name of Jesus Christ.