Sacrifice
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:12-13
This week I have been continuing my reading in the book of John. In Chapter 15, Jesus commands us to love each other so much that we would be willing to lay down our life for another. When Jesus tells us this, He doesn’t just mean writing someone a birthday card, or a sympathy note, He really wants us to live sacrificially for others.
As someone who will always have the game of football in my DNA, I often find myself drawing analogies to the game, particular during football season. Throughout high school, I enjoyed playing the more high-profile positions on the field, and as team captain, there were many instances when I could enjoy the limelight and feel like “it’s all about me.”
Jesus’s sacrificial command to live for others made me think of my college football years at University of Albany, where my position on the field changed significantly. As a freshman, I started out as a running back, however, it quickly became apparent to my college-level coaches, that it wasn’t the position for me, so I was given two choices: I could play on defensive line, or I could not play football anymore. Not a hard choice! The defensive line is predicated so that every defenseman fills a spot to prevent offensive penetration. There is not much glory in it. It is pure sacrifice. Here, the player’s mindset shifts from “it’s all about me,” to “the team is greater than me.” When on the line, our defensive coordinator, Mike Simpson, would always tell us “do your job… and your job is not going to be pretty.” He knew that doing our job, required us to sacrifice stardom.
Following each game, we watched a lot of film. And the tape never lies.
In reviewing the film, it is easy to see whether a player’s actions were motivated by selfishness or sacrifice. If you did your job, you got praised and rewarded. I got to the point where I wanted to be rewarded, so I needed to continue to lay down my own plan for the team’s plan during every game.
When they replay the film of my life, will they see me living my own way, or will they see me “laying down my life for my friends,” by sliving sacrificially for Christ for the sake of all to come to know Him? I pray my actions will be ones that were not flashy, grand or self-serving, but those of a sacrificial person who loved and cared for people for the sake of others coming to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
