A few nights ago, we were studying the first half of John in the small group meeting held weekly down the hall from my dorm room. We were studying the fifteenth chapter, which was about the vine and the branches. Upon reading the last paragraph of the passage, I came upon verse thirteen, one that I have read and many times before: “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” The first thing that appears in my mind when I read this is an image of a heroic soldier sacrificing himself to save his comrades on the battlefield (or, at least, something of that nature).
Now as we discussed this, a friend of mine in the Bible study brought up a valid point: Of course, it would be ideal for us all to lay down our lives for someone we love. However, in a moment when the time comes, it is honestly a very tough instinct to uphold. I think we as humans are flawed with selfishness and conceit, and no matter how hard we try to deny or suppress it, that monster can sometimes take hold, even if we decide beforehand to not let it. It is somewhat of a romantic ideal, a scene replayed in slow motion, to sacrifice you life for someone else.
Now, my intentions are not to belittle the sacrifice made by patriots for their country or anyone who has given their life for someone else, but honestly, it is tough, and when staring in the face, I think we would truly be standing on the line, and little we say now can decide what will happen at that moment for us. That said, I also believe that at the heart of the matter, true love will show its face in the form of sacrifice if it is called upon. I just point out that just because we say so now does not make it true for that time.
However, I think there is more to the verse than just the literal, obvious meaning. As I pondered, I realized that life is not just “all or nothing.” As in many matters, things appear in a gradient and not just in black and white. Our lives are not just objects we pass around. Our lives are the days we spend on this earth performing the actions we do everyday. Life is how we spend our time.
When verse thirteen says, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends,” it does not necessarily just mean dying for another person (although it could). If we apply the other view of life with the verse, we get a different idea. It definitely means sacrifice. It means giving up what we normally do with our time in order to use the time to help someone else. The very essence of this sacrifice is placing another person’s priorities above our own.
The blood of our lives is the precious time we have. I think that is one of the most valuable things we possess. We only get a limited amount, and how we use it is critical. If we spend the time to help someone else, that is essentially one of the greatest sacrifices we can give.
I loved every word of this, and it’s so true. Most philosophical thing I’ve read in a while. I agree though, when standing on the line, it’s a split second decision, but time is something we all have to offer.