Uncomfortable (S1) - Day 29

John 15:13
13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

This is the kind of text that we have come to love. We love the idea that this is the kind of love that we have from our God. However, it becomes a great deal more uncomfortable when we start thinking about how much love that takes for us to give our lives for those around us. I think that because the language is the language of death; “Lay down our lives. . .” that we don’t think it means that we are to find that kind of uncomfortable life in more everyday situations.

We will not all have the opportunity to lay down our lives for one another in a literal sense. However, we will, on many and most occasions, actually have the opportunity to give ourselves over in sacrifice to others. This means that we are going to be making choices that put others in front of ourselves. Choices and decisions are not easy to make, because they not only make us uncomfortable, but they become inconvenient in our lives. These decisions are a sort of “laying down our lives” for others, and they happen each and every day.

Parents understand this in a very palpable way. (Of course, so do others, I don’t want to diminish the sacrifice that others live as well). As a parent, you are constantly having to put your desires on the back burner for what your kids need. When they are babies, this is because they will not survive if you don’t, and as they get older–and more expensive–we sacrifice our time, finances, our priorities, and other things in order to be able to launch them into the world in a positive way. We don’t do this begrudgingly, but rather in joy and with an anticipation of great things in their lives.

This is a kind of uncomfortable love that we accept with no reservations. It is always more than we expect it to be, but we also know that the rewards of this discomfort is worth all of the sleepless nights, the redirection of funds, and the sacrifices.

When we give ourselves to one another in love, there will always be sacrifices, there will always be moments of discomfort. But they are not all about death, they are about the way that we submit to one another in love. These are words that we don’t always like, but are important for us to understand. Love is attention, and love is also sacrifice. It is putting others before ourselves, and it is living in the requisite sacrifices that love demands.

1. Is there someone you have given your life for? 
2. Do you regret it? 
3. Does it give you joy to do it? 
4. Do you have peace because of it? 
5. Have you ever been let down by one that you laid your life down for? 
6. How did you handle that?