Lesson #2: Love is Self Sacrificial

In John 15:13 it JESUS says, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”  Notice how Jesus says GREATER love. See, there are various degrees of love. Love is not equal. Love is not the same. See, we’ve been taught that “LOVE IS LOVE”, well according to Jesus, this simply is not true.

So what exactly is GREATER LOVE? Well, the greatest form of LOVE is SELF SACRIFICE. This means that you love people so much that you are willing to sacrifice yourself. But, let me break this down a bit further. When Jesus says Laying down ONE’S OWN LIFE, I want you to understand that He is not only talking about your LIFE. He is also talking about your WAY OF LIFE, and your LIFESTYLE. 

See, as a Christian, there are certain ways of life, and Lifestyles, that are contrary to the teachings of Christ. This is especially true if we are talking about a sinful lifestyle or a sinfull way of life. See, if you have by your own will called upon Jesus to be your Lord and Savior, then you have also decided that you will live a life of self-sacrifice.   If you goto Romans 12:1, the Apostle Paul continues this teaching of self sacrifice when he states, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”

If you look at what Paul is teaching, he is also validating that the greatest form of LOVE that a Christian can ever show is on of self sacrifice. So when you consider this teaching, remember that your sacrifice must be Holy, and acceptable unto GOD and not man. To clarify, there are sacrifices that you can make that are NOT holy and that are not acceptable to God. So be sure that you take the time to study Gods word to find out specifically what is Holy and Acceptable unto God.