I always thought this was something of a weird passage. I mean, it seems to make perfect sense, but I have never really had that much of a problem with the concept of dying in the service of another friend. To me, the idea of dying just isn’t that bad. Of course, I say that now, when I have less chance of dying immediately than of someone who lives every day with the threat of life and limb on every corner where he turns.

 

Of course, usually I started to say that the big deal was really doing things during your life for other people. However, as  I was driving in my car the other day I realized that this passage is as much commanding that we give up the things and parts of our life we hold dear for the sake of our friends as it is telling us to die for them.

 

When we speak of sacrificing ourselves to God, we don’t talk of killing ourselves so that God may use our lives, what we mean is that we live our lives all the while living with God as the owner of our time, energy, efforts, and all other matters. In the same manner, Jesus here commands us to sacrifice ourselves, meaning our time, our property, our liberty, and, if need be, our actual life force, for the sake of our friends.

 

I find the way Jesus says this to be interesting as well. He declares that this is His commandment. I don’t recall him using that term very often. Normally Jesus went around saying that all these things were written in the law, or so on; he was clarifying the laws of God. However, this time he declares this to be His commandment, as if it were something new that needs to be adhered to. I think this makes it all that much more worthy of attention.

 

So the next time we all think that we own our lives, that we are the primary goal, let’s remember how we are called to handle our lives in respect to our friends.