Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. John 15.13
This verse has faintly puzzled me for a long time. When I read it, my thoughts tend to compare it to Romans 5.7-8 “For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— [8] but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Surely the greater love is to die for one’s enemies, is it not? Or is it?
Think of the context in which Christ is making this comment. He is with His disciples in the upper room just hours before He will be arrested after being abandoned by these very men.
It is one thing to sacrifice for those you know will hurt and reject you. But is it not, perhaps, the greatest expression of love to continue to love and give and sacrifice and honor and favor those who betray and ignore and hurt and rebel and sneer at that love?
Is that not exactly what I do?
I am one of His disciples. And that is a damning statement.
On the one hand I embrace His love and grab all He gives me, and in the next moment I demand more, spurn His grace, think only of myself, sin against the very love that forgives me. “perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die” – there are no good persons, even among the redeemed. Our goodness is gifted, and it is so uncomfortable for us that we cannot wear it for long before removing it and returning to our filthy rags.
His love is an alien love. It is so far outside our comprehension that it looks bizarre to us. Consider a wife whose husband is continually cheating on her. What is our reaction if she stays in that marriage? What are some of our first thoughts? “I’d kill him!” “She oughta…” “If I were her, I’d…”
Could it be possible that she is showing a strength, a greater love, emulating our Lord, rather than showing weakness?
And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, Col 2.13
He forgave me all my trespasses. It was not a general, sweeping, see-them-all-in-a-messy-pile forgiveness. He saw and knew and forgave each trespass, knowing Every. One. Of. Them. He forgave and He still forgives after making me His friend. Some friend.
Some Friend.
Well, I don’t want to push this too far. The Bible is not so much competing loves one against the other. It is rather showing all the facets of love. Of His love.
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, [5] to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. Gal 4.4-5
God in love sent His Son. Christ in love died. And in love God forgave. And forgives. And forgives. And forgives.
Merry Christmas.
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