No Greater Love

By:  Dale Weckbacher

John 15:13

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

(ESV)

Another Christmas season is upon us.  I remember as a child the joy of waking up on Christmas morning with great anticipation at what gifts awaited me.  As I have grown up, I now realize these gifts only provided temporary joy that wore off as the newness of the gift disappeared.  However, even though the joy these gifts provided was only temporary, it was still a moment of joy and now as I have become a parent myself, I realize that my parents also experienced joy in seeing my joy upon receiving my gift.

However, there is a Christmas gift available to all that has an eternal joy.  This eternally joyful gift, much like the presents my parents gave me as a child, is gift is given sacrificially by our Heavenly Father out of a heart of love.  So grand is this gift that God used an angel of the Lord to announce it (Luke 2:8-11).  What makes this gift eternally joyful is that it is the gift of God’s Son Jesus Christ whose death on the cross would provide eternal salvation from our sins and grant eternal life with God (John 3:16).

During the discourse with His Disciples during the last supper, Jesus taught his disciples that the laying down of one’s life for their friends was the greatest expression of love possible.  Little did the Disciples know but the very next day after this discourse, Jesus would demonstrate this level of love by offering His own life up for their sins in fulfillment of Genesis 3:15.  However, like any gift, we must unwrap this gift to fully enjoy its benefits. 

Fortunately for us all, the unwrapping of this gift is simple for all it requires is believing.  I invite those that have not yet unwrapped this greatest Christmas gift to do so now by praying with me,

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, was buried, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

Congratulations, you have now unwrapped the greatest Christmas gift ever given.  Not only is this gift a gift providing eternal life for yourself as well as restored fellowship with God your creator, it is a gift you can share with others without losing it yourself.  You now have eternal life so why wouldn’t you share this with someone. 

The great news is you do not need to be some great theologian with vast biblical knowledge to share this gift, you simply need to share what Jesus has done in your life.  This is exactly what the Samaritan woman did when she encountered Jesus (John 4:1-45).  This is exactly what the demon possessed man from the country of the Gerasenes did after Jesus cast the legion of demons out of him (Mark 5:1-20). 

However, some of us may not have colorful pasts and believe we have no sensational story of conversion to share with others.  I encourage you not to use that as an excuse for the person you can share the gospel with needs salvation as we all do and God has placed you in their lives giving you an opportunity to be a light to shine the gospel into their lives.  Jesus had no colorful past of sin when he shared the gospel with the Samaritan woman and the demon possessed man of the Gerasenes yet he shared the Gospel and these individual’s lives were transformed.  Therefore, I encourage you to follow the example of Jesus and share the good news of the Gospel with others giving them the opportunity to unwrap the greatest Christmas gift ever given. 

Let us take time to pause from the hustle and bustle of this busy season to reflect on the great gift of love offered to us all on the first Christmas.  If you have already unwrapped this gift take a moment to thank God for this gift of love and tell others about it in both words and in how we live.  If you have yet to unwrap this gift, I encourage you to go back and pray unwrapping this gift and then perform the greatest act of re-gifting any of us can do by sharing this great gift of love with others.