John 15:13
[Jesus said] No one has greater love than this: that someone lays down his life for his friends.
Dear Lord Jesus,
You are the model of love. Too often, we have this thought that love is that gushy feeling we get inside of us when we see hearts and stars looking at someone else. While that may happen, that is not what love is. Love is when the other person has done or said some horrible things to us, and we are still willing to go the distance with them and forgive them. Ready to give up our life for them. You demonstrated this to us; you loved us when we still hated you. Before we heard your word, and before we were baptized, you gave up heaven to be one of us. In this, you lived the perfect life we could not do and credited it to us. Then paid the price for our sins, with your innocent suffering and death on the cross. All this you did for people who hated you, you forgave us. You gave up your life for us while we were still your enemies so that we would one day be with you in heaven. Lord, thank you for loving us and for showing us how to love others. Please give us the strength to love others around us as you loved us; forgive us when we don’t. And thank you for giving up your life so we can be sure of our eternal life. Our hope is in you. Amen.
Pastor Roger Emmons
Christ laid down his life for both his friends and enemies; that means all of us.