The Bible says in John 15  “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends“.  Just before these verses Jesus speaks about his love for us and just following these verses he talks about being our friend. So, Jesus showed us “the greater love” by laying his life down for us so that we could be called friends.  It is one of the foundational doctrines of Christianity that sets it apart from other religions. God would die for us. And at the same time, we assume that this type of love won’t actually be asked of us….its reserved for the spiritual elite or perhaps military personnel, who do willingly sacrifice their lives for our nation’s sake.

This Christmas season, I’ve been wondering what this verse would look like in everyday life. I’ve come up with only one conclusion.  Christ picked up our pain, our punishment, our sin and carried it away. Perhaps we cannot carry another’s punishment, and certainly cannot carry away their sin.  We can help carry their pain.  Maybe what love is the willingness to carry a piece of someone else’s pain. As a pastor’s wife, I see people’s pain. The loss of loved ones, health, jobs, children, security, independence, it is so much sometimes that it’s hard take it in without getting overwhelmed. But,what if as a body we could all carry a piece of their pain? We all might move about with more ease. Laying down the life that’s all about me and caring enough, stopping long enough to remember their pain and pray.

Merry Christmas!