How to Love Like JesusSample

Love is sacrificial

Yesterday we talked about what it means to love genuinely, noting that doing so will, at times, require that we also love sacrificially. When we reflect on the sacrificial element of Christ’s love for us, the cross is often the first example that comes to mind. And for good reason. As Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13 ESV). Moreover, Paul adds that we were not even his friends when he made the decision to die on our behalf so that we might have the chance to be restored into a right relationship with God (Romans 5:10).

At the same time, most of us are never going to be called to die so that someone else might live. We cannot know that such a sacrifice will not be required of us, but the odds are against it. So how can we model the sacrificial love of Christ if the greatest example of that love is not something we can really emulate?

The key is found in the larger context of John 15.

Throughout the first seventeen verses of John 15, Jesus speaks of the need to abide consistently in his word and to follow his commandments. He describes a life defined by service and loyalty to the Lord. That call culminates in verses 12-14 when he states, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.” (John 15:12-14 ESV)

Verse 13 often gets the most notoriety, but the surrounding statements make two clear points:

1. Laying down your life can mean a willingness to die in place of someone else, as Jesus did for us on the cross.
2. More commonly, laying down one’s life can also refer to the daily sacrifice of making your desires and wants secondary to the needs of those God brings into your life.

And while it’s essential that we allow the Holy Spirit to be the one who guides us in knowing how to meet those needs—after all, another person’s need does not automatically constitute your calling—Christ’s call is for us to give him a blank check in terms of what we are willing to sacrifice when the Lord asks it of us.

The cross, however, is not the only example Jesus gives us of what it means to love sacrificially.

Few stories from his life exemplify this kind of love better than when Jesus, aware that the cross was in his imminent future, chose to stoop down and wash the feet of his disciples.

While there are many aspects of this story that teach us what it means to love sacrificially, one of the most important stems from the fact that Jesus did not have to wash his disciples’ feet. In fact, such an action was so far beneath him that his followers were genuinely shocked and, as we see with Peter, initially appalled that he would presume to do so.

But that was the point.

An act is far less sacrificial when it is compelled or done for selfish reasons than when it is done by choice with the primary goal of blessing the other person. Recognizing that distinction when evaluating our motivations is key to loving well.

One of the primary reasons that having the correct motivations is so important when loving sacrificially is that it can be easy to make such acts of caring about yourself. If we love others with the expectation that such love will be returned to us, then we are in danger of loving selfishly rather than sacrificially.

Now, that doesn’t mean love ceases to be sacrificial if it’s reciprocated. Such reciprocity is how love should work.

If we all loved each other sacrificially, as Jesus commands, then we would all experience a level of love that far surpasses anything else we could hope to receive. But it’s not always going to work out that way. And, if we’re going to follow Christ’s example, the other person’s response cannot factor into how far we are willing to follow the Holy Spirit’s guidance in loving others.

If such love ever seems too difficult or unreasonable, just remember that Jesus washed Judas’s feet that day as well, knowing that at least some of the mud he was cleaning off likely came from the road Judas took to arrange Christ’s betrayal (Matthew 26:14–16).

So, as we conclude for today, take a few minutes to ask the Lord to help you understand how to love more sacrificially, both in your relationship with him and in your interactions with other people. Be specific in response to what he showed you in the previous reflections.

When you’re done, turn those thoughts into a prayer.