Greater Love

 

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends.

John 15:12-13

 

A very good friend of mine died one week ago today having lost a four year battle with ovarian cancer. She had gone through many surgeries and rounds of chemotherapy. Through it all she kept her faith, her sense of humor and her desire to live.

As I was driving to her funeral I was thinking about her and the relationship we had. We met at a Bible Study. In many ways we were very different. She was a little to the left of me politically and theologically. This made for some “spirited” discussions. She was as firm in her opinions as I was in mine. Neither of us was ever willing to be wrong! I know she was a good friend because she always called me again!

The one thing we had in common was our love for the Lord. It was always refreshing to hear her speak of her faith and how she knew God was at work. She wanted to pray for her children and grand children.

Anyway – the point I wanted to make is that one of the reasons – perhaps THE reason she lived so well for those years was that her husband was at her side. Shortly after her diagnosis he took an early retirement to be available to be with her and to care for her. Prior to this, he had been, like most men, dedicated to his work.

He did what she couldn’t do. He was able to drop his plans and go because he had given up the formal schedule of work and devoted himself to her needs. This is not to say that he quit his own life. He didn’t. For instance, he took the necessary training to become a lay leader in his church (no small feat). But, he was there in her times of greatest need. Transporting, cleaning, caring, cooking, talking to the doctors, insisting on the best care, and even driving her to meet her girlfriends for lunch or breakfast was she was too weak to drive.

This situation has reminded me of these verses: “”This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends.” John 15:12-13. The way I see it my friend’s husband laid down his life for his wife. He loved his work and had been dedicated to it for many years…until she needed him to be there. There is no greater love than this.

I recognize that not everyone is financially able to do this. But how many of us would give up any part of our lives for another person – even family? I am getting really used to hearing the words, “I’m too busy.”

Many times the Bible speaks to the love we should show to family and others. If we refuse to give up some of the “busy” we can’t do it.

1 Timothy 5:8, But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

Proverbs 28:27, Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse.

James 1:27, Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Each one of us knows someone (in or out of our families) who needs to be loved in a very practical way. What can we do to show them a greater love today?