March 13th, 2017

Read John 13:36-38

John 13:36-38 Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.” 37 Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38 Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”

WELL, are you? Are you ready to lay down your life for Jesus? If you’re like me, you’d say, “Let me think about this. Do you mean die as in not being alive, dead and buried? Or do you mean laying down my life as in giving up my job and going to Africa to feed hungry children? (I first wrote this six years ago.) Or maybe you mean that laying down my life is giving up my night watching TV to tutor a child, to join in a Bible study or to visit someone in need. Perhaps it means going into a hard area of the city to nurture a young man or woman.
    Jesus was literally asking Peter and the others if they were truly ready to die for him. (Maybe that’s why they became so afraid at his arrest and crucifixion.) After all, he knew that most of them would die a tortuous martyr’s death. 
    Living a resurrected life means you must be fully prepared to lay down your life for Jesus. Empowered by his resurrection, we are to approach life with the sacrificing commitment and love Jesus has so freely offered to us.
    Think of being committed to Jesus in the same way you are committed to one you love. I think most of us parents can readily say we would die for the sake of our children. We love them that much. We have “died for them”, too, as we have adjusted our lives to their growing lives. We have made decisions to support them, to put aside our own desires, and to give our children opportunities to learn and to grow.
    Being committed to Jesus is like that. When we love him enough to adjust our lives to him and to even die for him, everything in our relationship with Jesus becomes aligned into a holy order. When Jesus calls us to “die” in some “small” or “big” way, we are ready. We are willing.
    So, what is your answer? 
 
Resurrection Truth: The only answer is, “Yes.”