While teaching the adult class I made the statement that a true characteristic of Christian love is that one would be willing to lay down his\/her life for his\/her friends.\u00a0 One lady stated that she could not do that.\u00a0 What are your thoughts?\u00a0 How would you answer this lady’s comment?<\/p>\n\t
“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends<\/em>” (John 15:13)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Jesus’ statement is that the ultimate expression of love is the willingness to lay down his life for those he loves. In this, he is referring to his own sacrifice. “For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us<\/em>” (Romans 5:7-8).<\/p>\n
One goal of being a Christian is to grow to be like Christ. “But, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head — Christ — from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love<\/em>” (Ephesians 4:15-16). Growth is the goal, but few make it anywhere close to the perfection of Christ.<\/p>\n
Having love to the extent of Christ is what we should strive to have, but at the same time, most Christians have not yet obtained that level of devotion to their brethren. Because a Christian currently lacks that level of commitment, it does not mean they are any less a Christian. The lady is admitting that she has an area in which she needs to grow. When a person gets to the point of being truly willing to lay down his life for a friend, then there is no more growth needed in the realm of love because that is the ultimate expression of love.<\/p>\n
The best answer is Paul’s. “And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints<\/em>” (I Thessalonians 3:12-13).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: While teaching the adult class I made the statement that a true characteristic of Christian love is that one would be willing to lay down his\/her life for his\/her friends.\u00a0 One lady stated that she could not do that.\u00a0 What are your thoughts?\u00a0 How would you answer this lady’s comment? Answer: “Greater love has…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[579,65],"class_list":["post-12161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-friendship","tag-love"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":35716,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-was-a-cross-chosen-for-christ-to-die-on\/","url_meta":{"origin":12161,"position":0},"title":"Why was a cross chosen for Christ to die on?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 15, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Why was a cross chosen for Christ to die on? Answer: Jesus stated, \"When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me\" (John 8:28).\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11070,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-does-it-mean-that-we-ought-to-lay-down-our-lives-for-the-brethren\/","url_meta":{"origin":12161,"position":1},"title":"What does it mean that we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 17, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am teaching the adult class in the morning. There is one particular verse that I need to be prepared to explain exactly what it is teaching and am not entirely sure.\u00a0 What is your understanding of I John 3:16?\u00a0 Are we expected to be willing to die for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35941,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/where-does-the-old-testament-say-that-the-messiah-would-die-and-rise-from-the-dead\/","url_meta":{"origin":12161,"position":2},"title":"Where does the Old Testament say that the Messiah would die and rise from the dead?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 19, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I have several questions that I have struggled with for years. Can you tell me where in the Old Testament it says that the Messiah will die and rise from the dead? Where does it say in the Old Testament that the Messiah will be worshiped as God?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32331,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-sinners-be-called-beloved\/","url_meta":{"origin":12161,"position":3},"title":"Should sinners be called “beloved?”","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 20, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi Brother Jeffrey, I was considering a post I read on Facebook. It said Kamala Harris is beloved and Joe Biden was worth dying for. This made me think about the idea that Jesus called Pharisees a brood of vipers. There is something troubling to me about calling evil\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25924,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-god-doing-for-me-now-to-prove-his-love\/","url_meta":{"origin":12161,"position":4},"title":"What is God doing for me now to prove His love?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 8, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: God taught us to love and loving is a daily process requiring lots of physical and conscious effort. To show I love my wife, I have to remind her, I have to shower her with gifts, I have to kiss, hold, caress her, and sacrifice to her daily. Sometimes\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":36225,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-i-tell-my-friend-that-homosexuality-is-wrong\/","url_meta":{"origin":12161,"position":5},"title":"Do I tell my friend that homosexuality is wrong?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 23, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: One of my friends, who has been depressed, is a bit more open-hearted to Christianity than my other friends. I've seen her praying. She's said to me she's going to pray for something a few times. 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