Delight Yourself in the Lord Devotionals

Laying Down One's Life - John 15:13

Today is May 28th, Memorial Day, the day when Americans remember those that paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. This day is set aside as a remembrance for the military that never made it home.

It is fitting on this day to look at Jesus Christ, as well, who laid down His life for us, the perfect Lamb who died a horrible death on the cross to atone for all our sins. The sacrifice of Jesus is beyond our ability to comprehend. He laid down His life out of love for us and to grant us freedom. The military men and women we remember on this day every year paid a price that was very high, a price that their family feels every day, and our freedom is owed to all military, past and present, alive and deceased.

John 15:13 says, "No one has greater love [nor stronger commitment] than to lay down his own life for his friends." We see this in what the military has done and continues to do and in what Jesus did. The vital thing to see is that Jesus' life wasn't taken by men, rather He willingly laid it down for us all, to save us from ourselves, our fallen nature, our rebellion, and this dark world. The price paid cannot be measured or comprehended, and it is far more valuable than words could ever express or we can ever understand this side of Heaven.

Jesus died that we may have life and that life is to be an abundant life (John 10:10). To live abundantly means to be living a life that is fully free, amply empowered, plentifully joyful, with grace and mercy and strength in sufficient degree. We need to remember that the death and resurrection of Jesus has made us co-heirs with Christ, brothers and sisters of Christ, children of God, with the power to unleash things in Heaven and on earth (Matthew 18:18). We are told that whatever we ask in Jesus Name according to God's will shall be granted us (Matthew 18:19, 21:22; Mark 11:24; John 14:13). There is great power in the sacrifice of one's life for a friend, because God has placed great worth and value in the lives He created.

God created you and loves you. Today, as you remember the cost of freedom, allow Jesus to show you how much you are loved. As a follower of Christ, there is great promise and power given to us. So, be thankful on this day of remembrance for all that have sacrificed for us, and especially the greatest sacrifice of all. Thank you, Jesus!

John 3:16 (AMP) says, "For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life."

Read John 15 full text Amplified Version here: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john+15&version=AMP