From Amy...

A thought from Amy

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. - 1 John 3:16I just love this verse! J It’s so beautiful to think that Jesus loved us SO much that He laid down His life for us!! JAs I think about this verse, I think that there are more then one way He did this; Yes the biggest and most wonderful thing was that He died on the cross to take away our sins! J But, there are other wonderful, amazing ways in which He laid down His life for us as well! The whole time He was here on earth, He was laying down His life for us – He healed the sick, He drove out demons, He preached God’s Word, He cared for us, He was beaten and spit upon for us, He was nailed to a cross for us, He died for us, He forgave all our sins!… The list goes on and on and on!!At the end of the verse it says “And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” A lot of 1 John is talking about love, and in this verse it tells us how we know what love is – Jesus Christ lay down His life for us!!! But it doesn’t end there! It goes on to say that we also should lay down our lives for our brothers – That’s what love is! Laying down our own lives, and doing what God says to do – laying down our lives for others.It is not probable that many of us will have to literally die in the place of someone else. (But if God put you in that place, He will give you the grace to go through it, and do what He wants you to do! And literally dieing for someone else, would be a huge way of showing love!). But, I want to talk about some more practical things of laying down our lives –Cleaning the house, doing our chores, (with out complaining I might add!), cooking for the family, playing with siblings, helping mom when she needs it, wiping up spills, taking the dog out, putting the baby to bed. Being cheerful, not complaining, being respectful to your parents, helping someone in need, being there when a friend needs you, taking the time to pray for someone/with someone… The list goes on and on! J What I’m trying to say is that every time you give up what you want to do at that moment, and do what your parents want you to do, or help someone who needs it, or spend time with a sibling, (when you’d much rather be reading your book!), those are all ways to lay down your life for others, and show you love them, and that you love God. It’s certainly not always easy to do this! In fact, most of the time personally I want to just do my own thing, or it’s much easier to sigh, and throw down what I am doing in frustration, and do what Mom wants rudely, or what would help her with a bad attitude, and it’s hard to stop what I’m doing on the computer to go play with one of my siblings. But “…remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' "Remember to “Do everything in love.” - 1 Corinthians 16:14!! J And if you are having a hard time doing things in love, just remember that you are working for Jesus, who loved you so much He laid down His life for you, and asked you to do the same for others, in all the ways you are able! JGod bless you!!Amy P.S. This is by no means saying that you can never read a book you want to, or do something you enjoy, or always play with your siblings when they ask, (you could be playing all day in that case! ;-)), but just to keep in mind to “Do everything in love.” (1 Corinthians 16:14) And remember to lay down your lives for others, just as Jesus did for us!