1 John 3:16

Good Friday Morning,
A little relief from the heat. When I was walking Tucker this morning, a cool breeze kept me from overheating. God is good to supply what we need. In this case, a break from the oppressive heat.
Looking at 1 John 3:16 today is so refreshing, just like the breeze this morning. "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." In order to get all that John is saying, please read verses 11-20.
We can all agree that Christ's sacrifice on the cross was the ultimate act of love. Although we are not asked to die for another, we are asked to lay down our lives. What's the difference you ask? If you continue to read you'll see that John is talking about helping one another, even to the point of sacrifice.
Have you ever given of yourself, time, talents, money, stuff to the point of sacrifice? When I tried to think of a time that I did, I'm reminded of going overseas to serve. We left behind our son, got rid of many possessions, giving much away and left friends and family.
We had many people ask us why we came to the Czech Republic and it gave us the perfect opportunity to share the message of the cross with them. It was hard for them to understand why we'd leave the abundant life here for a meager life there. We shared that possessions aren't what life is all about, people are.
Sure, we sacrificed things, and time with people here, but God rewarded our sacrifices, our laying down our lives for Him by giving us a ministry that far exceeded anything we could ever have imagined. We gave, and He gave back, a thousand fold. There are people who will spend eternity with all of us that came to Christ because of His message, leading and our laying down our lives for Him and them.
So, who will you lay down your life for? In what way will you do it? Ask God to show you the way, then hang on for the ride of your life!

Praising Him,
Sandy