By: Mike Kelly
Retired Pastor
We just passed Easter and the incredible fact of the Resurrection of Christ. Paul tells us that without the resurrection, our faith would be useless “And if Christ has not risen, then our preaching is in vain [it amounts to nothing] and your faith is devoid of truth and is fruitless (without effect, empty, imaginary, and unfounded).” 1 Cor 15:14 AMP. Christ’s Life, Death and Resurrection are the pivotal point in man’s history.
Lots of things have gone on in the history of man: the development of tools, learning to read and write, forming societies and cities, great religions and empires, learning to fly and travel to the moon, computers and the internet.
But none of them are as life altering as the life of one man: Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, God Incarnate.
What could possibly make man worth the sacrifice we just finished re-living a couple of weeks ago? There is absolutely nothing that makes us worth such a sacrifice!
As a race, we are defective, unloving, selfish, morally corrupt, even the very Scripture we read, and trust says that our righteousness is like a filthy rag.
So why would the King of Glory give up his throne and power and come to earth to take our moral corruptness onto his own soul and die in sin for us?
God tells us why but it’s pretty hard to believe. As a matter of fact, it makes no kind of sense even to those of us who benefit from it.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
(John 3:16) When it says “the world” it includes bad guys like Ghegis Khan, Pol Pot, Adolph Hitler, Idi Amin, Augusto Pinochet, Mao Zedong, Joseph Stalin…and you and me.
What are we doing on that list? Khan was responsible for some 50 million deaths, Mao, some 60-80 million deaths, World War 2 saw some 70-90 million people die thanks to leaders like Stalin and Hitler.
Yet, we are just as evil as them. Our influence may well not be as big as theirs, but our sin smells just as bad to God as theirs.
Yes, our souls are just as lost as theirs. We are just as evil as them. But God loves us anyway. We can’t be bad enough for God to love us any less than he does.
1 John 3:16 states, “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers”.
God loves us so much that he died for us. He died to redeem us from our sin and lostness. God proved his love for us on that cross and in that empty tomb.
And note the last of that verse: “we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.” In essence, it emphasizes that we should emulate Christ’s sacrificial love by being willing to lay down our lives for others, just as he did for us.
Are you? Am I? Willing to lay down our lives for others? Christ did. How can we, his disciples, do any less? But what does that even mean? “To lay down our lives for others’?
I’m pretty sure it doesn’t mean dying on a cross. I’m even pretty sure for 99+% of us, it doesn’t mean moving to some third world country as a missionary.
It probably doesn’t even mean giving up my job or walking away from my cushy life. So, how do we lay down our lives for others?
Maybe it means smiling at that cashier who messed up your order for the third time. Maybe it means taking out the trash for your spouse even though it’s generally their job.
Maybe it means trying extra hard to help that boss who is such a jerk. Maybe it means laughing at that joke your spouse has told 100 times before. Maybe it means cleaning up your room before your mom tells you to.
Or standing up to that bully at school, Or letting your co-worker take credit for your idea. Or giving someone a ride that is way out of your way.
Or holding back that bit of gossip. Or apologizing for what you didn’t really say. Or not giving an attitude in return for being on the receiving end of one.
Laying down our lives doesn’t always have to be a big thing. Actually, most often it is not. Most often it is not taking offense when you could. It’s forgiving when it’s not asked for.
It’s accepting that the other person is human and can mess up occasionally and letting it go. Maybe, it’s treating others like you would like to have been treated but weren’t.
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Mike Kelly is the founding pastor of Bryan’s Grace Community Church (retired) and Board Chairman of Bryan’s Sanctuary Homeless Shelter and Williams County’s Compassion (free) Medical Clinic.
