It’s easy to help others when it doesn’t cost us much. So often, our motivation to help people, is not really about them, but about ourselves. We want to look good in the eyes of those around us. Maybe that’s why Jesus tells us to count the cost before we decide to follow Him. Because it DOES cost! It costs us our comfort and our ego. It means that we need to love those who don’t love us. It means we need to give even when it hurts – even when we think we have nothing more to give. It means that our lives become a living sacrifice to Him.
But Jesus isn’t just talk. He came to this world to show us exactly how it is done. He never lived a life that was aimed at His earthly needs. Everything He did was focused on the will of His Father. While sweating blood in the Garden of Gethsemane, and living through the greatest anguish any man has ever experienced, He didn’t give in to His comfort. Jesus gave until it hurt, and then He continued giving. He gave His very life, so that anyone who believes in Him, could live. Even the very people who nailed Him to the cross. That’s LOVE! That’s SACRIFICE. That’s my JESUS!
Godly love is not so much about how we feel, but more about how we respond. When the world makes crazy decisions, love doesn’t mean we need to agree! In fact, if we love the world, we will be telling them the truth. We will be telling them about the Hope that they can find in Jesus. Love means that we won’t allow the world to change us, but that we will allow God to use us to change the world. What the world needs more than ever before is Truth and Love. What the world needs more than ever before is Christians living that love. What the world needs more than ever before is Jesus Christ.
Instead of me, He took the blame. Instead of me, He died alone… a sinner’s death. Instead of me, He suffered silent agony. That’s why I owe Him my life. Because He gave me His.
Have an amazing day!
Mark Davidson
