I am a “friend” kind of person.  I love people, am a people-person and get energized by people around me.  This morning though as I spent time with my “Papa God” as a new friend calls Him, I am struck by the question, “Do I love others like Christ does and how He instructs me to?”

John 15:9-14 is our template for loving others,

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.  If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.  I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.  My command is this:  Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.  You are my friends if you do what I command.”

Do I lay down my life for my friends?  What does that even mean?  In practical terms it would be putting my agenda and desires aside for those of a friend, it is listening to the Holy Spirit’s prompting to pick up the phone and call someone He’s laid on my heart, it is stopping and praying for someone immediately, instead of saying “I’ll be praying for you”, it’s allowing my day to be controlled by the Holy Spirit living in me instead of being controlled by the day I’m living in.

And yes, it might even mean taking a “bullet” for a friend.  Throwing myself in front of an oncoming piece of shrapnel and risking my life in order to love my friend the way Christ loves me.

When we obey this command to love with unabandonment and sacrifice, Christ’s desire, joy and delight  for us will result in  joy and gladness that will be of full measure, complete and overflowing.  We delight Him when we love others like He did.

Still learning how~